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A  UTHOR: 


SNYDER,  WILLIAM 
LAMARTINE 


TITLE: 


THE  MILITARY  ANNALS 
OF  GREECE  FROM... 

PLACE: 

BOSTON 

DA  TE: 

[1915] 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC  MTCROFORM  TARHFT 


Master  Negative  # 


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JPPLl.l  I  II 

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Snyder,  William  Lamartine,  1848- 

The  military  amials  of  Greece  from  the  earliest  times 
to  the  begimiing  of  the  Pelopomiesian  war,  by  William 
L.  Snyder  ...    Boston,  E.  G.  Badger;  [etc.,  etc.,  ''1915] 

2v.   I9i~.      »).0Q  ■ 

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Map  on  first  lining-paper  o£  v.  1. 


1.  Greece— Hist.       I.  Title. 


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THE  MILITARY 
ANNALS  OF  GREECE 


FBOM    THE    EARLIEST   TIMES    TO    THE 
BEGINNING    OF   THE   PELOPONNESIAN    WAB 


BY 

William   L.  Snyder 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 
Volume  I 


^ 


BOSTON:    RICHARD    G.   BADGER 
The  Copp  Clark  Co.,  umited,  Toronto 


?    ".S 


Copyright,  1915,  by  Hichakd  G.  Badger 


All  Bights  Reserved 


\  lo  —  |'="tii' •^' <e^....  d    —  *>.-  \jc 


II 


The  Gorham  Press,  Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


CHA.PTBB 


II. 


III. 
IV. 


V. 

VI. 

VII. 


VIII. 

©:. 

X. 

.2V.  J.. 

XII. 


CONTENTS 


Preliminary   Observations         .  .  • 

Geography  of  Ancient  Hellas  and  Adja- 
cent Countries     .         .  •  •  • 
Primitive     Inhabitants     of     Pre-historic 
Hellas  —  Antiquity    of    Man  — Table 
of  Early  Chronology  .... 
Homer    ...•••• 
Homeric   and   Biblical  Literature  —  Was 
the  Hellenic  Bard  Ignorant  of  the  Sub- 
lime Poetry  of  the  Old  Testament? 
Sparta  —  Lycurgus  —  The   Achaian   and 
Dorian  Supremacy  in  the  Peloponnesus 
Sparta  —  Laws    and    Institutions  —  The 
Rhetra  of  Lycurgus     .... 
The  Amphictyonic  Council  —  Its  Influence 
Among  the  Hellenese  —  Lack  of  PoHt- 
ical  Unity  the  Cause  of  the  Downfall 
of     Greece  —  The     Religion     of     the 
Greeks,  their  Games  and  Festivals 
Athenian      Jurisprudence  —  Laws      and 

Constitutions    of    Solon 
Usurpation    of    the    Pisistratidae  —  The 
Constitution   of  Clisthenes   .         .  • 

Persians  Under  Darius  —  His  Affairs  in 

Asia  —  Scythia  and  the  Scyths  . 
Persians  in  Europe  Under  Darius  —  The 
Scythian    Expedition    on    the    Danube, 

B.  C.    513 • 

Ionian  Wars  —  Burning  of  Sardis — 
Military  Operations  on  Coasts  of  Asia 
Minor  —  Battle  of  Lade     . 


PAOB 

V 


6 

30 


45 
68 
85 


104 
122 
140 
161 

172 

185 


CBAPmB 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 


XVI. 


njHfcfc   T   JL-^m 


XVIII. 


XIX. 
XXI. 


CONTENTS 

First  Persian  W^ar  —  Marathon 

Miltiades      ...... 

Second  Persian  War  —  Invasion  of 
Xerxes  —  Advisability  of  the  Expe- 
dition —  Dream  of  Xerxes  —  De- 
parture from  Sardis 

Second  Persian  War  —  March  of  Xer- 
xes from  Asia  —  Crossing  the  Helles- 
pont —  Review  at  Doriscus  —  Col- 
loquy with  Demaratus 

Second  Persian  War  —  Numerical 
Strength    of    the    Army    of    Xerxes 

—  Herodotus  and  His  Critics  . 
Second    Persian    War  —  Preparations 

in  Greece  to  Receive  the  Army  of 
Invasion  ...... 

Advance  of  Xerxes  Through  Thrace, 
Macedonia  and  the  Vale  of  Tempe     . 

Thermopylae  ..... 

Artemisium  ..... 

Advance  of  Xerxes  from  Thermopylas 
to  Athens  —  Attempt  to  Sack  the 
Temple  of  Delphi  —  Fall  of  Athens 

—  Traditions  as  to  Salamis  —  Ora- 
cles and  Prophecies  .... 


rAoa 

206 
229 


243 


256 


274 


301 

309 
314 
326 


339 


I 


PRELIMINARY    OBSERVATIONS 

UR  knowledge  of  the  Persian  Wars  is  derived 
chiefly  from  Herodotus.  Fortunately  for 
posterity  the  writings  of  the  first  great  his- 
torian have  escaped  the  ravages  of  time. 
After  the  lapse  of  centuries,  we  may  read  his 
charming  account  of  the  manners,  customs  and  tradi- 
tions of  the  nations  of  antiquity,  and  also  concerning 
the  wars  and  conquests  embraced  in  their  military 
annals.  The  attempt  of  Asia,  under  the  control  of  a 
single  individual,  to  reduce  to  slavery  the  free  cities  of 
Hellas,  presents  one  of  the  most  fascinating  stories  in 
recorded  history. 

It  is  difficult  to  realize  the  extent  of  the  power  of 
Cyrus  and  Cambyses,  of  Darius  and  Xerxes,  who  ruled 
the  eastern  world,  when  we  remember  that  without  ex- 
ception all  within  their  vast  dominions  were  abject 
slaves.  At  the  request  of  Haman,  Ahasuerus  (Arta- 
xerxes )  issued  a  decree  "  to  destroy,  to  kill,  and  to 
cause  to  perish  all  Jews,  both  young  and  old,  little  chil- 
dren and  women  in  one  day."  At  the  request  of  Queen 
Esther  the  decree  was  reversed,  and  at  the  king's  com- 
mand, Haman  and  the  entire  race  of  Agag  perished. 
It  is  now  reasonably  certain,  that  the  Amestris  of  He- 
rodotus was  the  Vashti  of  Esther. 

The  writings  of  Herodotus  are  the  source  from 
which,  to  a  very  large  extent,  modern  historians  derive 
the  facts  concerning  the  early  history  of  the  Hellenic 
people,  and  more  especially  with  regard  to  the  Persian 
Wars ;  as  Thucydides  is  the  principle  source  of  our  in- 

V 


vi 


PRELIMINARY    OBSERVATIONS 


formation  concerning  the  Peloponnesian  War  and  the 
causes  which  led  to  it. 

The  accuracy  of  the  events  recorded  by  Herodotus 
with  regard  to  the  Persian  Wars  is  now  generally  con- 
ceded. His  account  of  the  forces  of  Xerxes  which  were 
reviewed  at  Doriskus,  on  the  plains  of  Thrace  in  the 
valley  of  the  Hebrus,  has  been  questioned  by  some 
eminent  scholars.  Their  criticism  is  confined  chiefly  to 
the  numbers  which  Herodotus  says  the  Persian  monarch 
led  on  his  expedition  to  enslave  Hellas.  Among  his 
critics  the  ablest  are  Rawlinson,  Grote  and  Heeran,  all 
of  them  accomplished  scholars  and  historians.  One 
circumstance  with  regard  to  their  criticism  is  difficult 
to  explain.  Professor  Heeran,  in  his  work  entitled 
"  Commerce  of  the  Ancient  World,"  ^  sustains  the  ac- 
curacy of  the  account  of  the  forces  of  Xerxes.  The 
author  believes  that  there  was  a  muster  roll  of  these 
forces  to  which  Herodotus  had  access.  On  the  other 
hand,  Mr.  Grote  contends  that  there  never  was  any 
muster  roll,  while  Canon  Rawlinson  assumes  that  there 
must  have  been  a  muster  roll  and  Herodotus  must  have 
seen  it.  In  this  connection  Mr.  Grote,  after  referring 
to  the  numbers  of  the  Persian  hosts,  observes :  "  So 
stands  the  prodigious  estimate  of  his  army,  the  whole 
strength  of  the  eastern  world,  in  clear  and  express  fig- 
ures of  Herodotus.  .  .  .  To  admit  this  overwhelming 
total,  or  anything  near  it,  is  obviously  impossible,  yet 
the  disparaging  remarks  it  has  drawn  upon  Herodotus 
are  no  way  merited."  ^ 

Canon  Rawlinson  on  the  other  hand  declares  that  it 
can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  numbers  given  are  con- 
siderably beyond  the  truth.  He  then  gives  his  estimate 
as  to  what  he  thinks  Herodotus  should  have  stated 
with  regard  to  the  strength  of  Xerxes'  army.    And  yet 


»Part  1.  Sec.  1,  pp.  162,  558,  3d  Edition. 
■Grote  Hist.  Greece,  Vol.  5,  p.  35. 


PRELIMINARY    OBSERVATIONS 


Vll 


Mr.  Rawlinson  is  one  of  the  fairest  critics  of  the  great 
historian,  and  says  that  the  figures  he  gives  are  ac- 
curate; they  contain  no  arithmetical  errors,  but  he 
challenges  the  correctness  of  the  results.  Yet  neither 
Mr.  Grote  nor  Canon  Rawlinson  have  advanced  any 
facts,  or  produced  any  evidence  whatever  to  sustain 
their  conclusions. 

Dogmatic  denial,  without  more,  amounts  to  noth- 
ing, except  the  personal  views  of  the  individual  making 
the  denial.  When  the  historian  presents  facts  in 
chronological  sequence,  and  supports  his  narrative 
with  abundant  corroborative  details,  he  has  made  a 
prima  facie  case.  When  the  critic  says  I  don't  credit 
the  story,  his  declaration  proves  nothing.  It  is  a  mere 
conclusion  without  evidence  to  support  it.  In  order 
to  discredit  history,  evidence  must  be  produced  to  war- 
rant the  conclusion  that  the  narrative  is  incorrect  or 
without  foundation.  It  is  true  that  the  writings  of 
Herodotus  are  interspersed  with  legend  and  fable,  and 
stories  current  in  his  time.  But  he  is  always  careful 
to  discriminate  as  to  the  facts  of  history,  as  distin- 
guished from  matters  which  deal  with  gossip  and 
legend.  For  example,  he  tells  a  story  of  how  Scyllias 
of  Scyone,  described  as  the  best  diver  of  his  time,  de- 
serted the  Persians  and  joined  the  Greeks  at  Artemi- 
sium.  How  he  escaped,  he  says,  he  cannot  certainly 
affirm,  and  wondered  whether  the  account  concerning 
it  was  true,  because  it  was  said  "  that  having  plunged 
into  the  sea  at  Aphetae,  he  never  rose  until  he  reached 
Artemisium,  having  passed  this  distance  through  the 
sea,  as  near  as  can  be,  eighty  stadia  (more  than  seven 
miles).  Many  other  things  are  related  of  this  man 
that  are  very  like  falsehood,  and  some  that  are  true. 
If,  however,  I  may  give  my  opinion  of  this  matter,  it 
is  that  he  came  to  Artemisium  in  a  boat."  ^     Yet  some 


*  Herod,  viii,  8. 


VIM 


PHELIMINAEY    OBSERVATIONS 


who  delight  to  indulge  in  caustic  criticism,  do  not  give 
Herodotus  credit  for  his  frank  avowal  that  he  does  not 
believe  the  story. 

In  reaching  a  just  conclusion  as  to  the  accuracy  of 
the  strength  of  the  army  of  Xerxes  certain  facts  must 
be  taken  into  consideration.  In  this  connection  we  may 
ask  what  was  the  population  of  the  vast  domain  over 
which  Xerxes  exercised  absolute  authority.  His  em- 
pire was  the  most  extensive  the  world  had  ever  seen. 
Over  all  the  inhabitants  within  its  borders  his  juris- 
diction was  supreme.  His  power  extended  to  their 
property  not  only,  but  to  their  lives.  Without  excep- 
tion, there  was  not  a  free  man  in  his  dominions.  In 
one  sense,  they  were  not  subjects,  they  were  abject 
bondmen,  chattels,  slaves. 

If  we  could  estimate  the  total  population  of  the 
Persian  Empire  in  that  age,  we  would  be  able  more 
readily  to  appreciate  the  truth  as  to  the  number  of 
fighting  men,  recruited  from  forty-six  nations  in  Asia 
and  Africa. 

The  population  of  these  countries  including  Europe 
was  calculated  in  1890  by  Wagner,  a  celebrated  Ger- 
man geographer,  as  follows:  Asia,  875,000,000; 
Africa,  170,000,000;  Europe,  392,000,000.  In  all, 
1,437,000,000. 

According  to  the  book  of  Esther,  the  kingdom  of 
Ahasuerus  embraced  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
provinces  from  India  to  Ethiopia.  Herodotus  does  not 
give  the  number  of  provinces  in  the  empire  of  Xerxes, 
but  refers  to  the  forces  drawn  from  forty-six  nations 
within  his  realm.  ^ 

The  form  of  government  of  the  Spartan  oligarchy, 
as  revealed  in  the  rhetra  of  Lycurgus,  the  constitution 
of  Solon  and  the  modification  of  his  laws  by  Clisthenes, 


*  For  a  discussion  as  to  the  numerical  strength  of  the  army  of 
Xerxes,  see  Chapter  XVII,  page  274. 


PRELIMINARY    OBSERVATIONS 


IX 


who  established  the  ten  Attic  tribes,  are  interesting 
features  and  necessary  to  an  understanding  of  the 
character  of  the  Hellenic  people.  They  derived  their 
military  ideals  from  the  poems  of  Homer,  whose  works 
are  discussed.  Homer  was  endeared  to  the  Greeks,  as 
the  poetical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  were  to  the 
Israelites.  In  this  connection  the  chapter  on  Biblical 
and  Homeric  Literature  will  interest.  From  Homer, 
also,  Alexander  the  Great,  who  believed  himself  to  be 
a  direct  lineal  descendant  of  Achilles,  derived  the  in- 
spiration which  prompted  him  to  conquer  the  world. 

Sketches  of  the  eminent  men  who  contributed  to  make 
Athens  the  most  interesting  city  of  antiquity  are  neces- 
sary, also,  to  a  study  of  the  MiHtary  Annals  of  Greece. 

Wm.  L.  Snyder. 
New  York,  November,  1914. 


MILITARY  ANNALS 
OF  GREECE 


CHAPTER    I 

GEOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT    HELLAS   AND   ADJACENT 

COUNTRIES 

XTENDING  from  the  southern  rim  of  Eu- 
rope three  peninsulas  project  into  the  Medi- 
terranean. The  Iberian,  the  most  westerly, 
embracing  Spain  and  Portugal;  the  middle, 
Italy ;  and  the  most  easterly  and  smallest  of 
the  three,  Greece,  known  to  the  ancients  as  Hellas. 
One  thing  which  impresses  itself  upon  the  mind  of  the 
student  is  the  narrow  limits  embraced  in  the  geograph- 
ical outlines  of  tliis  land,  which  has  filled  the  world  with 
its  fame. 

V^If  the  Hellenic  peninsula,  excluding  Thessaly  and 
Epirus,  were  projected  on  a  horizontal  plane,  between 
parallel  lines,  without  regard  to  its  indented  coast  and 
crooked  shore  line,  it  would  rest  within  almost  a  per- 
fect square,  which  would  measure  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
five  miles  across  from  east  to  west,  and  one  hundred  and 
eighty-five  miles  in  length  from  north  to  south.'  In 
other  words  the  territory  embracing  the  confines  of  an- 
cient Hellas  could  be  placed  within  a  parallelogram, 
one  hundred  and  fifty-five  miles  in  breadth,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  miles  in  length  on  either  side. 
Hellas,  thus  defined,  includes  the  country  south  of 
Thessaly  and  Epirus,  including  the  peninsula,  south  of 


MIUTARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


the  gulf  of  Corinth,  designated  the  Peloponnesus, 
divided  geographically  as  Central  and  Southern 
Greece,  lying  between  the  thirty-ninth  parallel  and  a 
line  thirty-five  minutes  north  of  the  thirty-sixth  par- 
allel, north  latitude. 

Central  Greece  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  gulf 
of  Corinth,  the  Corinthian  isthmus,  and  the  Saronic 
Gulf;  by  Epirus  and  Thessaly  on  the  north;  by  the 
^gean  sea  on  the  east,  and  the  Ionian  on  the  west. 
The  states  within  this  territory  are  Acarnania,  ^tolia, 
Locris,  Phocis  and  Boeotia,  all  forming  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  gulf  of  Corinth ;  Malis,  Locris,  and 
Dons,  the  latter  being  the  smallest  of  all,  and  the  only 
state  which  does  not  border  on  the  sea;  Megara, 
which  joins  the  isthmus  of  Corinth,  and  Attica  which 
forms  a  peninsula  jutting  into  the  JEge&n  sea  which 
washes  the  eastern  shores  and  the  Saronic  gulf  on  the 
south  and  west.  The  island  of  Eubcea,  also,  separated 
from  Locris,  Boeotia,  and  Attica  by  the  crooked  channel 
of  Euboea,  forms  part  of  the  territory  of  Central 
Greece. 

The  four  principal  cities  in  Euboea  are  Histiaa  on 
the  north,  Carystus  on  the  south,  and  Eretria  and  Chal- 
cis  on  the  Euripus  or  narrow  part  of  the  channel  in  the 
centre.  In  Attica  is  Athens  and  the  sacred  town  of 
Eleusis.  In  Boeotia  is  Thebes,  Tanagra,  Delium, 
Plataea,  Chaeronea  (the  birthplace  of  Plutarch),  Co- 
ronea  and  Orchomenus  (distinguished  from  a  town  of 
the  same  name  in  Arcadia).  Delphi  and  Crissa  are  in 
Phocis ;  Naupactus  is  in  Locris  on  the  gulf  of  Corinth, 
as  distinguished  from  Locris  on  the  gulf  of  Malis. 
Heraclea,  Stratus,  Thyrrheum  and  Anactorium  are  in 
Acarnania,  as  is  also  the  peninsula  of  Actium,  mem- 
orable in  Roman  times  as  the  locality  of  the  naval  en- 
gagement which  sealed  the  fate  of  Antony  and  Cleo- 
patra. Thermopylae  is  in  Locris  on  the  gulf  of  Malis. 
Megara  is  on  the  isthmus  in  Megara. 


6E0GEAPHY    OP   ANCIENT    HELLAS 


Southern  Greece,  or  the  Peloponnesian  peninsula, 
embraces  six  states.  On  the  north  are  Achaia,  Argolis 
and  Elis ;  Arcadia  is  in  the  centre.  The  southern  part 
of  the  peninsula  embraces  Laconia  on  the  east  and 
Messenia  on  the  west.  Patras  is  in  Achaia.  Olympia, 
Elis  and  Pylos  are  in  Elis.  Corinth,  Sicyone,  Argos, 
Mycene,  Tiryns,  Nauplia,  Epidaurus  and  Troezen  are 
in  Argolis.  Mantinea,  Tegea,  Orchomenus  and  Mega- 
lopolis are  in  Arcadia.  In  Laconia  is  the  lovely  hollow 
Lacedsemon  (Sparta),  Amyclae  and  Prasias.  In  Messene 
is  the  capital  bearing  the  same  name.  Pherae  (the 
modern  Calamata),  Mount  Ithome,  and  the  Boar's 
Grave,  famous  in  the  Messenian  Wars.  On  its  western 
coast  is  the  bay  of  Pylos  (now  the  bay  of  Navarino) 
and  the  island  of  Sphacteria,  on  which  Cleon  captured 
the  flower  of  the  Spartan  army  in  the  first  decade  of 
the  Peloponnesian  War.  ^^ 

*  Greece  is  all  mountains,  gulfs  and  bays.  It  is  said 
that  no  place  in  Greece  is  more  than  forty  miles  from 
the  sea.  The  island  of  Salamis,  in  the  Saronic  Gulf,  is 
a  chain  of  hills  or  low  mountains.  The  Attic  plain  is 
surrounded  by  a  chain  of  mountains  called  respectively 
Parnes,  Pentellicus  and  Hymettus.  The  Citheron 
range  forms  its  boundary^ with  Boeotia.  Mount  Tcarius 
and  the  Gerania  Mountains  cover  Megara.  The  prin- 
cipal mountains  in  Laconia  which  form  in  part  the  val- 
ley of  the  Eurotas  are  the  Taygetus  and  Pamon 
ranges,  but  the  entire  Peloponnesus  is  covered  with 
mountains.  It  is  said  that  Arcadia  is  perhaps  the  most 
mountainous  of  its  six  states.  Central  Greece  also  is 
all  mountains.  Delphi  is  on  Mount  Parnassus.  Heli- 
con, the  seat  of  the  muses,  is  in  Boeotia ;  Mount  (Eta 
forms  the  wall  on  the  gulf  of  Malis,  at  the  foot  of 
which,  between  its  base  and  the  sea,  is  the  pass  of  Ther- 
mopylae, where  Leonidas  perished.  Euboea  is  covered 
with  mountains.  The  famed  Olympus,  Ossa  and  Pelion 
are  in  Thessaly.     The  notable  rivers  are  the  Eurotas 


4  MILITAEY    AKNALS    OF    GREECE 

and  the  Alpheus  in  Peloponnesus,  the  Cephissus  in  At- 
tica, the  Achelous,  which  forms  the  boundary  between 
Acarnania  and  .Etolia,  the  Euenus  in  the  latter  state, 
the  Asopus  in  Bceotia,  the  Cephissus  in  Northern  Locris 
and  the  Sperchius  in  Malis. 

^(xreece  has  the  most  sinuous,  irregular  and  crooked 
shore  line  of  any  country  in  the  world,  occasioned  by 
the  fact  that  its  shores  arc  everywhere  indented  with 
gulfs  and  bays  innumerable.  *^  The  peninsula  is  almost 
cut  in  two,  by  the  gulf  of  Corinth  on  the  west  and  the 
Saronic  gulf  on  the  east.  Other  indenting  seas  are  the 
gulfs  of  Argolis,  Laconia,  Messenia,  Cyparissius,  Pa- 
tras  (Lepanto),  Ambracicus,  Malis,  Pagas«us,  and 
the  channel  of  Euboea.  The  width  of  the  isthmus  of 
Corinth  at  its  narrow  point  is  a  little  more  than  four 
miles.  A  canal  has  been  cut  across  this  neck,  joining 
the  gulf  of  Corinth  with  the  Saronic  gulf,  and  the 
Peloponnesus,  since  the  construction  of  this  waterway 
is  no  longer  a  peninsula,  but  an  island. 

The  contiguous  territory  on  the  north,  besides 
Epirus  and  Thessaly,  is  the  peninsula  of  Magensia, 
which  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  that  state,  and 
Dolopes,  which  in  like  manner  forms  part  of  the  south- 
ern boundary  of  both  Epirus  and  Thessaly. 

In  the  latter  state  the  river  Peneus  flows  in  a  north- 
easterly direction  across  the  country  into  the  Thermaic 
gulf,  or  sea  of  Thrace.  About  fifteen  miles  from  its 
mouth  it  enters  the  valley  between  the  mountain  ranges 
of  Ossa  and  Olympus.  This  picturesque  territory, 
known  as  the  Vale  of  Tempe,  has  inspired  poetic  fancy 
on  account  of  its  varied  scenery,  which  includes  some 
of  the  most  charming  and  beautiful  landscapes  in 
Northern  Hellas. 

The  Vale  of  Tcmpc  is  the  only  opening  into  Thes- 
saly through  which  an  army  can  pass  with  its  equip- 
ment and  baggage.  The  walls  of  the  mountains  and 
the  narrow  defiles  rendered  it  important  from  a  military 


GEOGRAPHY    OF   ANCIENT    HELLAS  5 

standpoint.  It  is  seventy-six  miles  north  of  the  pass 
of  Thermopylae,  which  forms  the  gateway  into  Locris 
apd  Central  Greece. 

KThe  contiguous  territory  on  the  north  is  Macedonia, 
from  which  projects  into  the  ^gean  or  sea  of  Thrace 
the  three-pronged  Chalcidian  peninsula.  To  the  east 
stretches  ancient  Thrace,  extending  from  the  eastern 
borders  of  Macedonia  to  the  Propontis  (sea  of  Mar- 
mora) and  the  Euxine  (Black  sea).  The  Mge&n 
separates  Hellas  from  Asia  Minor,  in  which  are  located 
the  states  of  the  Asiatic  Greeks,  namely,  ^olis,  Ionia 
and  Caria.  Among  its  principal  cities  were  Halicar- 
nassus,  the  birthplace  of  Herodotus,  Miletus,  Priene, 
Magnesia,  Ephesus,  Smyrna  and  Phocaea.  South  of 
the  Hellespont  and  north  of  Lesbos  was  Troas,  in 
which  was  Ilium,  where  Priam  established  his  kingdom. 
It  may  be  observed  that  prior  to  the  Balkan  War 
Macedonia  and  Thrace  were  embraced  in  the  Empire  of 
Turkey  as  well  as  Asia  Minor.  Part  of  the  territory 
known  in  antiquity  as  Epirus  and  lUyria  are  now  in 
the  states  of  Bosnia,  Herzegovina,  Montenegro  and 
Servia.  The  states  of  Bulgaria,  Roumania  and  Eastern 
Roumelia  were  earlier  known  as  Thrace,  and  north  of 
the  Ister  (Danube),  the  country  was  designated 
Scythia. 


CHAPTER    II 

PRIMITIVE    INHABITANTS    OF    PRE  -  HISTORTP 
HELLAS -ANTIQUITY    OF    MAN-?ABLE 
OF   EARLY    CHRONOLOGY   ^"^""^^ 

ITH  the  possible  exception  of  the  Israelites, 
who  trace  their  genealogy  direct  to  Adam, 
the  supposed  father  of  the  human  race, 
what  knowledge  we  have  concerning  the 
people  who  first  inhabited  the  Grecian  pen- 
insula, hke  our  knowledge  with  respect  to  the  primitive 
inhabitants  of  every  country  on  the  globe,  rests  upon 
tradition,  upon  legend  and  fable. 

The  theory  obtains,  among  modern  scholars,  that  as 
early  as  B.  C.  3000,  which  according  to  the  Hebrew 
chronology  would  ante-date  the  flood,  the  date  of  which 
is  presumed  to  be  B.  C.  2438,  emigrants  from  Western 
Asia   came   into   Europe,   and   overspread   the   Balkan 
peninsula      Part  of  this  foreign  population,  it  is  said, 
centuries  later,  pushed  southward,  overran  the  HeUenic 
penmsula,    and    settled    in    Epirus,    Thessaly,    Central 
Greece  and  the  Peloponnesus.     For  want  of  a  better 
name,    these    newcomers    are    designated    Pelasffians 
whose  genesis,  and  ethnological  position   is  extremely 
uncertain.     They  are  usually  spoken  of  as  a  nomadic 
race,  composed  of  shepherds  and  hunters.    We  are  told 
that  they  dwelt  in  tents,  or  huts,  from  which  the  smoke 
escaped  through  a  hole  at  the  top,  and  were  divided 
mto  tribes,  and  that  from  these  tribes  were  descended 
the  Hellenic  race.     The  contribution  of  the  Hellenes  to 
art,  poetry,  and  philosophy,  which  distinguished  them 
from  other  nations  of  antiquity,  and  which  has  been 

6 


PEIMITIVE   INHABITANTS    OF    GKEECE  7 

preserved  to  us,  attest  the  learning,  the  culture  and  the 
genius  of  this  remarkable  people. 

This  theory  with  regard  to  the  Pelasgians  as  pro- 
genitors of  the  HeUenes  is  full  of  difficulties.  Whom 
did  the  Pelasgi  find  when  they  advanced  through  the 
passes  of  the  Gerania  mountains  in  Megara,  crossed 
the  isthmus  of  Corinth,  and  reached  the  plains  of 
Argos,  in  the  Peloponnesus.  Who  were  the  inhabitants 
that  dwelt  in  the  land  when  the  Pelasgi  entered  it. 
There  was  a  civilization  in  Argolis,  which  must  have 
flourished  long  before  the  days  of  Agamemnon  and  the 
Trojan  War,  and  long  prior  to  the  immigration  of  the 
barbarous  hordes  from  the  north.  The  remains  of  this 
early  civilization  can  be  seen  to-day  among  ruined 
walls,  crumbling  arches  and  empty  tombs,  at  Argos, 
Mycenae  and  Orchomenus,  to  which  we  shall  refer  pres- 
ently. 

Can  it  be  said  that  the  Pelasgi  were  the  first  in- 
habitants of  the  Peloponnesus,  and  were  driven  out  by 
the  builders  who  erected  the  palaces,  the  arched  gal- 
leries, casements,  chambers,  and  the  "  bee-hive  tombs  " 
in  Argolis  and  Arcadia.?  If  so,  these  civilized  people 
were  post-Pelasgian.  It  is  obvious  that  this  theory 
cannot  obtain,  because  the  Pelasgi  were  barbarians, 
ignorant  of  the  art  of  war,  and  unable  to  construct  en- 
gines for  purposes  of  assault  necessary  to  dislodge 
an  enemy  entrenched  behind  fortifications  and  walls, 
which  were,  in  some  instances,  more  than  Mtj  feet 
thick.  The  builders  of  Tiryns  and  Mycenae  brought 
their  civilization  perhaps  from  Mesopotamia,  perhaps 
from  Egypt.  Others  contend  that  the  earliest  civiliza- 
tion of  mankind  existed  in  Babylonia  and  Western  Asia, 
not  in  Egypt.  But  this  surmise  is  mere  speculation. 
For  want  of  a  better  name,  the  Greeks  called  the 
masonry  in  the  plain  of  Argos,  Cyclopean,  the  work  of 
the  Cyclops,  a  legendary  race  of  giants,  who,  it  was 
supposed,  were  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  country. 


8 


MILITARY   ANNALS   OF    GEEECE 


The   traveler  who   visits   the   plain   of  Argos,   will 
wander  through  the  ruins  of  the  acropolis  at  Tiryns 
and  then  journey  to  Mycenae.     There  is  little  left  of 
ancient  Argos,  save  the  seats  of  the  theatre  on  the  hill- 
side, near  the  modem  railway  station,  which  retains  the 
name  of  the  old  city.     At  Tiryns,  he  will  climb  the 
eminence  on  which  once  stood  a  great  palace,  and  note 
the  walls  of  Cyclopean  masonry,  the  remains  of  which 
still  rise  many  feet  above  the  base  of  the  acropolis. 
This  wall  is  constructed  of  tremendous  blocks  of  rough 
stone,  but  from  the  appearance  of  the  wall  it  is  obvious 
that  no  cement  or  mortar  was  used  in  its  construction. 
When   he   descends    by    the   stone   staircase   from   the 
ground  floor  of  the  palace,  which  once  crowned   the 
summit  of  the  acropoHs,  to  what  must  have  been  a  sort 
of  terrace  or  approach  to  the  upper  walls,  he  will  enter 
a  long  hall,  built  of  huge  stones,  constructed  similar 
to  the  outer  wall  without  mortar,  the  ceiling  being  of 
stones  forming  a  sort  of  arched  roof.     The  outer  side 
of  this  stone  hall  is  pierced  by  openings  which  lead  into 
chambers,  all  perfectly   constructed   of  blocks  of  un- 
polished stone. 

At  Mycenae,  he  will  find  an  acropolis  or  hill,  some- 
what higher  than  that  of  Tiryns,  on  the  top  of  which 
stood  the  palace  of  Atreus,  and  his  son  Agamemnon. 
The  entrance  to  the  remains  of  the  ruins  is  through  the 
Lyons'  Gate,  which  is  centuries  old.  These  lions  are 
carved  in  stone,  represented  as  standing  on  cither  side  of 
a  pillar  over  the  entrance,  placed  on  the  lintel  above  the 
gateway,  their  forepaws  resting  against  the  base  of  the 
pillar  or  column.  Here,  too,  as  at  Tiryns,  can  be  seen 
the  so-called  Cyclopean  masonry,  the  stone  galleries, 
chambers  and  subterranean  passages,  believed  by 
archaeologists  to  have  been  constructed  by  a  people  who 
inhabited  the  region  no  one  knows  how  long  before  the 
time  of  Agamemnon.  Near  the  citadel  of  Mycense,  the 
visitor  will  be  shown  what  are  known  as  the  beehive 


III 


ANCIENT    ARCHITECTURE  9 

tombs,  above  referred  to.  These  ancient  repositories  of 
the  dead  excite  the  wonder  of  the  traveler  because  they 
were  undoubtedly  the  work  of  a  race  whose  origin  is 
lost  in  remote  antiquity.  Some  believe  that  this  archaic 
people  came  from  Western  Asia,  and  employed  burial 
customs  similar  to  those  practised  in  primitive  Baby- 
lonia. These  bee  hive  or  dome-tombs  vary  in  size. 
There  is  usually  an  entrance  or  vestibule  from  which 
you  enter  the  enclosure.  The  principal  tomb  at 
Mycenae  is  fifty  feet  in  height  from  the  floor  to  the  apex 
of  the  dome.  It  is  constructed  of  blocks  of  stone,  laid 
in  circles,  each  circle  smaller  than  the  one  below  on 
which  it  rests.  All  these  circles  gradually  converge 
till  the  top  is  reached.  You  stand  in  the  centre  be- 
neath a  cone-shaped  dome,  rising  symmetrically  above 
your  head.  The  style  of  architecture  demonstrates  that 
the  people,  whoever  they  were,  who  built  these  struc- 
tures, were  acquainted  with  the  principle  of  the  arch. 
The  tomb  referred  to  is  believed  by  some  to  have  been 
used  as  the  treasury  of  Atreus,  the  father  of  Agamem- 
non. But  doubtless  it  was  built  centuries  before  his 
time. 

There  are  also  in  Argolis  bridges  of  this  massive 
Cyclopean  masonry,  spanning  streams,  running  their 
tortuous  course  to  the  sea,  over  which  roads  are  con- 
structed. One  of  these  bridges  near  Epidaurus  is  in  a 
perfect  state  of  preservation  to-day.  It  is  built  in  the 
form  of  an  arch,  constructed  of  huge  rough  blocks  of 
stone  laid  together  without  mortar.  As  we  stand  and 
contemplate  these  perfect  remains  of  remote  antiquity, 
they  seem  to  mock  us  with  the  inquiry,  who  constructed 
us ;  to  what  branch  of  the  human  family  did  our  crea- 
tors belong ;  in  what  age  did  they  flourish  and  whence 
came  they;  who  taught  them  to  construct  these  stu- 
pendous walls  and  arches  and  domes?  Were  they  Cy- 
clopean or  Pelasgian,  or  were  they  here  long  before 
either.?     These  questions  remain  unanswered,  nor  have 


lO 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


the    modern    scholars   and    sages    sufficient    data   with 
which  to  solve  them. 

We  must,  therefore,  content  ourselves  with  an  in- 
quiry as  to  the  Pelasgi  and  the  primitive  tribes  of 
Hellas. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  observa- 
tions of  the  learned  Canon  Rawlinson  in  regard  to  the 
Pelasgians.      He    argues    that   a    single    homogeneous 
people  ethnically  connected,  was  spread  "  at  the  earliest 
period  to  which  history  carries  us  back,  over  the  whole 
or  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  two  peninsulas  reach- 
ing from  the  shores  of  the  ^gean  to  the  borders  of 
Liguria."     He   says   it  is  even   doubtful   whether  we 
ought  not  to  class  with  them  the  Phrygians,  the  Carians 
and  the  Lydians.     He  is,  however,  unable  to  determine 
the   exact   position   of  the   Pelasgians   in   this   ethnic 
group.     He  says  the  Lcleges,  Curetes,  Caucones,  Do- 
lopes,  Dryopes,  Boeotians  and  Thracians  "  are  rather 
to  be  regarded  as  tribes  parallel  to  the  Pelasgic  than 
a  division  of  it."     He  argues  further  that  the  skill  of 
the  Pelasgi  in  fortifications  was  justly  celebrated,  and 
is  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  the  Cyclopean  masonry 
at  Tiryns  and  Mycenae  are  Pelasgian.     In  support  of 
this  theory  he  says  that  the  unwarlike  character  of  the 
Pelasgians  led  them  "  from  the  first  to  trust  to  walls 
for  their  defense  against  the  enemies  who  assailed  them 
on  all  sides."    As  to  their  destiny  he  believes  they  were 
absorbed  in  Asia  Minor  by  the  Carians,  Lydians  and 
Phrygians,  while  in  Italy  they  were  reduced  by  them  to 
the  condition  of  serfs,  and  in  Hellas  by  the  races  more 
or  less  nearly  akin  to  them.^ 

Of  course  all  this  is  theory  and  speculation,  but  if 
Canon  Rawlinson's  argument  is  sound  the  Pelasgi  were 
not  nomads,  eking  out  an  existence  as  hunters  and 
shepherds,  but  were  a  civilized  people  who  built  the 

*  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  Appendix  to  Book  VI,  Essay  II. 


THE   PELASGIANS 


II 


luxurious  palaces  which  were  erected  in  the  early  cen- 
turies at  Tiryns  and  Mycenae.  To  rank  the  Pelasgi  as 
a  civilized  people,  acquainted  with  art  and  luxury, 
seems  to  be  entirely  repugnant  to  all  the  accounts  we 
have  concerning  them  from  the  ancient  writers. 

It  would  seem  also,  if  Canon  Rawlinson  is  correct  in 
his  theory,  that  a  homogeneous  race,  ethnically  con- 
nected, spread  over  western  Asia,  and  the  Balkan  and 
Italian  peninsulas ;  that  conditions  existed  there  in  pre- 
historic times  similar  to  conditions  which  simultaneously 
existed  on  the  continent  of  North  America.  On  this 
western  hemisphere  in  the  territory  extending  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Allegheny  Mountains  and  the  Great 
Lakes,  the  early  explorers  found  a  homogeneous  people, 
ethnically  connected,  divided  into  the  great  nations 
known  as  the  Algonquin  and  the  Iroquois.  They  must 
have  lived  from  remote  antiquity  in  the  primitive  and 
savage  state,  in  which  they  were  discovered  by  Euro- 
pean navigators,  a  little  more  than  four  centuries  ago. 
We  speak  of  the  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas, 
Senecas  and  Mohawks,  as  Iroquois;  and  of  the  Otta- 
was,  Ojibways,  Pequots,  Pottawotomies,  Sac  and  Fox 
Narragansetts,  and  many  others  north  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, as  Algonquins. 

If  the  analogy  is  worth  anything,  then  it  would  be 
safe  to  assume  that  the  word  Pelasgian  was  not  the 
name  of  a  tribe,  but  was  a  generic  term,  as  Iroquois 
and  Algonquin  are  generic  terms  intended  to  embrace 
people  attached  to  many  tribes.  If  this  view  is  cor- 
rect, the  Leleges,  Curetes,  Dolopes,  Dryopes,  Boeotians 
and  many  others  were  tribes,  belonging  to  the  great 
Pelasgian  Confederacy,  and  the  Pelasgi  were  not  a 
mere  tribe  or  branch  belonging  to  a  separate  ethnic 
group. 

One  plausible  theory  advanced  is  that  the  Hellenes 
and  the  Pelasgi  were  contemporaneous  people.  That 
the  latter  first  came  in  collision  with  the  former  in 


12 


MILITAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


Thessalj.  The  Hellenes  claimed  their  descent  from 
Helen,  son  of  Deucalion,  who  survived  the  deluge,  just 
as  the  Israelites  claim  their  descent  from  a  branch 
of  the  family  of  Noah,  who  hkewise  survived  the 
nood. 

The  progeny  of  Deucalion  first  made  their  appear- 
ance m  Hellas,  in  Phocis,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Par- 
nassus, for  as  the  ark  of  Noah,  after  the  waters  sub- 
sided, IS  said  to  have  rested  on  the  summit  of  Ararat 
so  the  Greeks  declare  the  ark  of  Deucalion  rested  on 
the  summit  of  Parnassus.  In  the  early  history  of  every 
people,  the  tradition  of  a  flood  seems  to  be  universal. 
Ihe  similarity  between  the  account  of  the  deluge  re- 
corded m  Genesis,  with  that  among  the  early  people  of 
Hellas  IS  marked.  ^  r-     i- 

Noah,  the  son  of  Lamcch,  we  are  told,  survived  the 
human  race,  after  its  destruction,  and  was  the  second 
lather  of  mankind.     The  Grecian  legends  confer  upon 
Deucahon,  King  of  Thessaly,  son  of  Prometheus  and 
Pandora,  the  distinction  which  the  Hebrew  records  con- 
fer upon  Noah.    Zeus  (who  corresponds  to  the  Jehovah 
of  the  Hebrews  and  the  Jupiter  of  the  Romans)  covered 
the  earth  with  a  deluge,  by  way  of  punishment  for  the 
impiety  of  the  human  race.     Deucalion  constructed  a 
ship,  m  which  he  saved  himself  and  Pyrrha,  his  wife 
who    are    the    progenitors    of    the    second    race    of 
men  on  the  globe.    The  ark  of  Noah  reposed,  after  the 
waters  subsided  on  Mount  Ararat  in  Armenia.     The 
ship  of  Deucalion  rested  on  the  top  of  Mount  Parnas- 
sus m  Phocis,  midway  between  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  and 
the  gulf  of  Malis,  from  the  summit  of  which,  on  a  clear 
day  may  be  seen  the  famous  pass  of  Thermopylae. 

The  story  of  Deucalion  is  also  analogous  to  the  He- 
brew record  as  to  his  children,  from  whom  the  races  of 
mankind  descended.     We  are  told  in  Genesis  that  the 
sons  of  Noah,  who  went  forth  from  the  ark    (B  C 
«348),  were  Shem,  Ham  and  Japheth.     Ham  is  the 


DEUCALION    AND    HIS    DESCENDANTS 


13 


father  of  Canaan.     These  are  the  three  sons  of  Noah, 
and  of  them  was  the  whole  earth  overspread. 

The  Hellenic  account  is  that  Deucalion  had  three 
sons,  Dorus,  Xuthus  and  JEolus,  and  from  these  was 
the  whole  earth  peopled.  The  descendants  of  Dorus  are 
known  as  the  Dorians,  of  ^olus  as  Cohans.  No  de- 
scendants from  Xuthus  bear  his  name,  but  are  known 
by  the  names  of  his  two  sons.  Ion  and  Achaeus,  and 
their  descendants,  who  are  known  as  lonians  and 
Achseans.  ' 


Deucalion 


Helen 


(Hellenes) 


Dorus  (Dorians) 


Xuthus 


iEolus  (iEolians) 


Achaeus  (Acheeans) 


Ion  (lonians) 


The  Cohans  went  forth  from  Thessaly  and  migrated 
to  the  south  of  Greece,  as  far  as  the  Gulf  of  Corinth. 
They  crossed  the  -^gean  also,  and  settled  on  the  coasts 
of  Asia  Minor,  and  on  the  islands  of  Lesbos  and  Tene- 
dos.  The  Dorians  went  forth  from  Macedonia  into  the 
Peloponnesus,  and  settled  in  Laconia,  Argolis  and 
Messenia.  They  also  migrated  among  the  Cyclades, 
and  founded  colonies  on  the  island  of  Crete.  The 
lonians,  known  later  as  Athenians,  the  brightest  and 
most  enterprising  of  all  the  descendants  of  Deucalion, 
were  mariners,  and  engaged  in  commerce  and  explora- 
tion. They  peopled  with  their  colonies  the  islands  near 
the  eastern  shores  of  the  ^Egean,  south  of  Tenedos, 
and  north  of  Crete.  The  Achaeans  dwelt  in  Thessaly 
before  they  settled  Achaia  in  the  Peloponnesus.  They 
were  hunters,  shepherds  and  warriors.  Achilles,  the 
most  conspicuous  hero  of  the  Trojan  War,  was  of 
Achaean  blood,  bom  in  Phthiotis,  in  Thessaly. 


H 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECB 


No  accuracy    however,  attaches  to  this  division  of 
the  Aryan  family,  who  first  occupied  Greece  and  the 
islands  of  tiie  ^gean  Sea,  because  when  the  Dorians, 
^ohans  and  lomans  migrated  to  the  south,  they  found 
the     and   already   inhabited   by   the  Pelasgians,   who 
^ubtless  had  inhabited  it  for  centuries  prior  to  the 
Hellenic  migrations      And  there  seems  to  be  no  ques- 
tion but  that  the  Pelasgians.  wherever  they  came  from, 
upon  their  advent  into  Greece,  found  the  land  peopled 
by  tribes  whom  the  Pelasgians  must  have  subjugated 
or   expeUed       But    as   has    already    been    shown?  the 
builders  of  Mycenae  and  Tiryns  were  a  superior  race. 
If  indeed  they  were  ante-Pelasgian,  and  their  defeat  or 
extermmation  by  the  Pelasgi  seems  wholly  improbable. 
Indeed,  the  latest  authorities  on  the  subject  of  an- 
thropology and  archaeology  claim  that  tribes,  of  whose 
history  and  genesis  we  know  nothing,  inhabited  the 
globe    for    ages    prior    to    the    existence    of    that 
people,  whom  we,  for  convenience,  designate  historic 
man. 

Herodotus  ^  was  puzzled  to  account  for  the  Pelasiri. 
Froni  what  he  himself  knew,  concerning  the  language 
and  habits  of  the  remnants  of  the  race  which  were  stm 
living  in  certain  parts  of  Greece,  in  his  day,  he  in- 
dulged in  the  conjecture  that  the  original  Pelasgians 
did  not  speak  Greek,  but  used  a  barbarous  language 
He  then  concludes  that  if  Greek  was  not  the  languaire 
of   the   Pelasgians,    then    the   Attic    race    must   have 
changed  their  language  and  used  Greek,  when  they  took 
the  name  of  Hellenese,  because  in  another  part  of  his 
history,  he  affirms  positively  that  the  Attic  race  was 
Pelasgian.     But  he  says  also  that  this  conclusion  is 
based  on  speculation  and  conjecture.     In  another  pas- 
sage    he  declares  that  when  the  Pelasgians  possessed 
what  IS  now  called  Greece,  the  Athenians  were  Pelas- 


»  Herod,  i,  57. 


* 


•Herod,  viii,  44. 


/ 


lONIANS    AND    ATHENIANS 


IS 


gians  and  went  by  the  name  of  Cranai.  During  the 
reign  of  Cecrops,  they  were  surnamed  Cecropida,  but 
when  Erechtheus  succeeded  to  the  government,  they 
changed  their  name  for  that  of  Athenians,  and  when 
Ion,  son  of  Xuthus,  became  their  leader,  from  him 
they  were  called  lonians.  Herodotus  declares  also  ^ 
that  the  Pelasgians  drove  those  descendants  of  the  Ar- 
gonauts, who  had  settled  on  the  island  of  Lemnos,  from 
their  homes,  and  took  possession.  They  were  not  at 
that  time  living  in  harmony  with  the  lonians  and  Athe- 
nians, but  were  at  war  with  the  latter.  To  satisfy 
their  vengeance,  "  they  laid  an  ambuscade  for  (the 
Athenian  women,"  who  were  then  engaged  celebrating 
the  festival  of  Diana,  in  Brauron,"  ^  seized  them,  and 
took  them  captives  to  Lemnos  and  there  kept  them 
as  concubines.  Nor  did  the  Athenians  get  possession 
of  the  island  of  Lemnos  till  many  years  afterwards, 
when  Miltiades,  son  of  Cimon,  was  governor  of  the 
Thracian  Chersonese,  and  took  it  from  the  Pelasgians. 
This  Miltiades  was  the  father  of  the  hero  of  Marathon, 
and  grandfather  of  the  illustrious  Cimon,  one  of  the 
greatest  of  the  naval  commanders  of  Athens. 

The  Pelasgians,  no  doubt,  inhabited  the  Grecian  pen- 
insula long  prior  to  the  Dorian  migration.  They  were 
there  in  the  Homeric  age,  a  period  so  remote,  that  it 
is  not  possible  for  authentic  history  to  penetrate.  In 
the  second  book  of  the  Iliad,  in  which  is  given  a  cata- 
logue of  the  ships  which  conveyed  the  Greek  mariners 
to  the  plains  of  Troy,  and  the  cities  and  lands  from 
whence  they  came,  the  Pelasgians  were  in  the  Pelopon- 
nese.  After  referring  to  Ajax,  who  led  twelve  ships 
from  Salamis,  and  to  Mycenae,  the  well-built  city,  and 
wealthy  Corinth,  whose  vessels  were  commanded  by  King 
Agamemnon,  and  to  many  others,  the  poet  refers  to 
the    Pelasgians,   who    were   then    in   the   Peloponnese. 


» Herod,  iv,  145. 


•Herod,  vi,  138. 


i6 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


r?".*."^',  f^  '""^^'  ^^^«"nt]   those,  as  many  as  in- 
habited Pelasgian  Argos." 

Herodotus,  also,  referring  io  the  tribes  and  people 
who  contributed  to  the  vast  army  of  Xerxes,  speaking 
of  those  from  that  part  of  Asia  Minor,  and  the  islands 
along  its  coast  settled  by  lonians,  part  of  whom  he  in- 
fers came  from  the  Peloponnese,  refers  to  their  Pelas- 
gian origin.  Here  is  the  passage.  «  The  lonians  as 
long  as  they  inhabited  that  part  of  the  Peloponnesus 
which  IS  now  called  Achaia,  and  before  Danaus  and 
Xuthus  arrived  in  the  Peloponnesus,  as  the  Greeks  say, 
were  caHed  Pelasgian  Ji:gialees;  but  lonians,  from  Ion, 
son  of  Xuthus."  ^ 

We  have  quoted  from  Herodotus  because  he  is  the 
earliest   secular  historian,   and   lived   at   a   time   when 
descendants  of  these  ancient  people  were  still  dwelling 
m  parts  of  Greece,  which  had  been  visited  by  Herodotus 
and  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.    From  his  account, 
and  by  reason  of  the  reference  in  Homer  to  "  Pelasgian 
Argos,"  It  might  seem  that  the  Pelasgians  were  ab- 
original ante-Hellenic  inhabitants  of  Greece,  and  were 
^ther  driven  out  by  the  later  migration  of  Dorians, 
^olians  and  lonians,  or  were  intermarried  and  mingled 
with  them  m  some  localities.     But  this  theory  as  to  in- 
termarriage and  amalgamation   is  wholly  improbable, 
for  the  reason  that  the  remnant  of  the  Pelasgi,  who 
mrvived    their   ancestors,    and    lived    in    the    days    of 
Herodotus,   did   not    speak    Greek,    but    a    barbarous 
tongue,  m  the  language  of  their  pre-historic  ancestors, 
and  were,  in  the  fifth  century  B.  C,  distinguished  from 
the  artistic  and  polished  Hellenes,  by  their  rude  dia- 
lect and  barbarous  manners. 

With  regard  to  the  Pelasgi,  Mr.  Grote  observes,  that 
there  IS  no  sufficient  historical  evidence  as  to  their 
genesis,  or  origin,  their  manners  or  customs  which  war- 

» Herod,  vii,  94, 


EAELY    COLONIES  ly 

rants  their  classification,  except  in  the  period  of  legend 
and  tradition.  We  have  no  trustworthy  information 
respecting  them.  "  Where  such  is  the  case,"  says  Mr. 
Grote,  "we  may,  without  impropriety,  apply  the  re- 
mark of  Herodotus,  respecting  one  of  the  theories  to 
explain  the  inundation  of  the  Nile,  that  the  man  who 
carries  up  his  history  into  the  invisible  world,  passes 
out  of  the  range  of  criticism." 

Greece,  however,  so  tradition  tells  us,  did  not  remain 
isolated.  Navigation  and  commerce  brought  immi- 
grants to  its  shores.  One  of  the  earliest  colonies  came 
with  Cecrops  from  Sais  in  Egypt.  They  settled  in 
Attica.  Danaus  and  his  companions  came  from  Egypt, 
also,  and  were  received  into  Argos.  A  colony  of  Phoe- 
nicians was  led  by  Cadmus.  They  made  their  way  in 
Beotia  and  founded  Thebes.  From  Mysia  in  Asia  on 
the  southern  shores  of  the  Black  sea,  came  a  colony 
led  by  Pelops.  The  influence  of  the  immigrants  was  so 
great  that  the  name  of  their  leader  became  identified 
with  the  southern  peninsula  of  Greece.  He  became  the 
ancestor  of  a  race  of  Kings,  who  ruled  for  years  in  the 
Peloponnesus.  These  migrations,  however,  are  pre- 
historic, and  their  undertakings  and  activities,  like 
those  of  the  Pelasgi,  belong  to  the  period  of  tradition. 
They  were  not,  however,  barbarous  people,  but  came 
from  the  most  learned  and  refined  nations  of  antiquity. 
This  is  especially  true  of  Egypt  and  Phoenicia.  From 
the  latter  the  Greeks  learned  their  letters  and  the  use  of 
the  alphabet. 

Herodotus,  however,  is  not  satisfied  with  the  tradi- 
tions and  materials  to  which  he  had  access  to  account 
for  the  Pelasgi,  and  Mr.  Grote,  as  has  been  pointed 
out,  observes  that  there  is  no  sufficient  historical  evi- 
dence as  to  their  genesis,  or  origin,  except  such  as 
brings  them  within  the  pale  of  legend  and  tradition. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  Hellenes  became  the 
dominant  race  in  the  Greek  peninsula,  and  were  such 


i8 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OP    GEEECE 


when  authentic  history  begins.  Whatever  may  be  said 
as  to  the  theories  of  the  early  ante-HeUenic  people,  it  is 
clear  that  the  Hellenese  were  of  Dorian,  JEolian  and 
Ionian  origin,  and  were  the  ingenious  and  intellectual 
race,  which  made  historic  Greece. 

The  Hebrew  account  of  the  dispersion  of  the  races 
of  mankmd,  however,  is  more  authentic  and  satisfactory 
than  anything  which  has  come  down  to  us,  at  least  with 
regard  to  the  distribution  of  the  early  races  and  sub- 
races  on  the  continent  of  Europe  and  part  of  the  con- 
tments  of  Asia  and  Africa.     But  many  difficulties  re- 
main     After  the  speech  of  all  people  had  been  con- 
founded on  the  plains  of  Shinar,  in  the  region  about 
the  tower  of  Babel,  they  separated  B.  C.  2234.     Those 
speaking  the  same  language  formed  themselves  into  a 
great  body  and  sought  out  new  lands.    The  descendants 
of  Japheth   embraced   seven   distinct   families,   sprung 
from  the  seven  sons  of  this  son  of  Noah.    They  are  col- 
lectively denominated  the  Aryan  or  Indo-European  race, 
among  whom  are  the  Hellenes,  or  Greeks.     Their  gene- 
alogy IS  given  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis.     These 

^^^/'^/T'' /"""'•  ^°'"^'''  ^^''Sog,  Madai,  Javan, 
lubal,  Meshech  and  Tiras.  From  Javan,  the  fourth 
son  of  Japheth,  sprung  the  Hellenes.  Professor  Raw- 
Iinson  says  that  the  Jafones  embraced  the  lonians,  who 
were  Grecian  people.     The  Israelites  who  traded  on  the 

/fu*^^  '^°*^*  °^  "^^^^  ^^^y  *^™^^  *^^  Sea  of  Tarshish 
(the  Mediterranean)  and  along  the  southern  shores  of 
Asia  Minor,  the  island  of  Kattim  or  Chittim  (island  of 
Cyprus)  and  also  among  the  islands  of  the  ^gean  sea, 
traded  with  the  Grecians. 

The  divisions  of  the  family  of  Javan  is  also  given 
presumably  by  Moses,  and  the  contiguous  territory  into 
which  they  migrated  and  in  which  they  dwelt.  "  The 
sonsofJavan,"    says    Moses,^    "  Elishah    and    Tar- 

*Gcn.  X,  4. 


■^■■■IjjjJIPIIMMIIjllllllllii.  ■ 


DESCENDANTS    OF    JAPHETH 


19 


shish,  Kittim  and  Dodanim.     By  these  were  the  Isles 
of  the  Gentiles  divided  in  their  lands,  everyone  after 
his    tongue,    after    their    families,    in    their    nations." 
The  Isles  of  the  Gentiles,  here  referred  to,  embraced 
not  only  islands  but  lands  bordering  on  the  sea,  where 
ports  were  established  and  commerce  flourished.     It  is 
even   claimed  that   this   comprehensive   term  embraced 
not   only    the    coasts    of   the   Mediterranean,    but   the 
Euxine  and  the  Caspian  also.     This  claim  may  be  sup- 
ported by  a  passage  in  Herodotus  in  which  he  refers 
to  the  Tabareni,  and  the  Moschi,^  descendants  of  Tu- 
bal, near  the  Caspian  and  Black  Seas.     Tiras  and  his 
descendants,    it   was    believed,    inhabited   Thrace,    and 
their  progeny  was  a  fierce  and  barbarous  race. 

Descendants  of  Elishah,  son  of  Javan  and  grandson 
of  Japheth,  embraced  the  people  known  as  JEolians, 
who  inhabited  certain  islands  in  the  ^Egean  sea,  on  the 
west  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  The  shell  fish  from  which 
was  obtained  the  famous  purple  dye  —  the  Tyrian  pur- 
ple—  were  found  on  these  island  coasts,  and  are  re- 
ferred to  in  the  Old  Testament  in  the  Lamentation  of 
Ezekiel,  over  the  doom  pronounced  by  him,  B.  C.  586 
against  Tyre  (Ezek.  xxvii,  7  et  seq.).  See  Fenton's 
translation  post  page  22. 

Tarshish,  with  his  descendants,  it  is  believed,  mi- 
grated to  the  west  to  Tartessus  in  Spain,  and  dwelt 
along  the  coasts  of  the  Iberian  peninsula.  Kittim 
was  supposed  to  have  occupied  Kittim,  the  island  of 
Cyprus,  and  to  have  built  Kitium,  on  the  southeast 
coast,  the  city  known  as  Citium,  besieged  by  Cimon 
(B.  C.  449)  in  his  last  campaign  against  the  Persians 
and  their  allies.  His  people  are  said  also  to  have  dwelt 
m  the  islands  of  the  Cyclades,  in  the  ^gean  Sea. 

Dodanim's  progeny  are  believed  to  be  the  Darda- 
nians,  who  dwelt  in  Asia  Minor,  where  Priam  established 

*Herod.  iii,  94;  vii,  78.  '  ' 


20 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


LEGEND    OF    ATLANTIS 


21 


'^1 


his  empire  and  built  Tmj,  immortalized  by  Homer,  and 
to  have  dwe  t  also  in  the  island  of  Rhodes.  Javan  and 
Greeks'''"''  *^"'^^^""' '''''  ^^'^  ^o  be  progenitors  of  the 

In  this  connection  we  may  refer  to  a  mythical  coun- 
try,  an  island  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  known  as  Plato's 
legendary  continent  of  Atlantis,  in  which  some  claim 
were  located  the  Elysian  fields.     This  region  of  Greek 
legend,  it  is  said,  was  some  time  in  the  remote  past,  in- 
habited by   a   powerful   people   who   were   finally   con- 
quered  by  the  Athenians  thousands  of  years  before  the 
time  of  Solon      No  Greek  writer  makes  any  mention  of 
this  lost  continent  of  Atlantis  until  the  time  of  Plato. 
That  distmguishcd  pupil  of  Socrates  and  preceptor  of 
Aristotle  m  his  "  Timaeus  "  and  "  Critias  »  is  author- 
ity   for   the   legend.      He   declares    that   an    P^gyptian 
priest  disclosed  to  Solon,  the  lawgiver  of  Athens,  the 

fK^""^  f  u  .  J''^'';  f  ^'''  ^^""trjm^n  who  overthrew 
the  inhabitants  of  the  lost  continent.  This  mythical 
^nd,  Solon  was  told,  was  in  the  Western  Sea,  beyond 
Mount  Atlas,  over  against  the  Pillars  of  Hercules.  It 
was  said  that  it  was  greater  in  extent  than  Libya  and 
Asia  Mmor  combined,  was  located  in  the  ocean,  and 
from  It  other  islands  and  another  continent  could 
be  reached  of  which  the  Mediterranean  or  sea  of  Tar- 
shish  was  but  the  harbor.  It  was  further  claimed  that 
the  hitherland  within  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  embraced 
in  the  Empire  of  Atlantis,  extended  to  Egypt  and 
lyrrhenia.  ^"^^ 

The  military  power  of  this  vast  continent  was  ar- 
rayed against  Egypt  and  against  Hellas,  and  all  the 
countries  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean,  and  threat- 
ened their  existence.  The  armies  of  Atlantis  invaded 
the  territory  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  But 
when  the  soldiers  of  other  nations  failed,  and  even  the 
Hellenes,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Athenians, 
gave  way,  the  latter  performed  deeds   of  prodigious 


valor  that  filled  the  world  with  their  fame,  and  drove 
the  invaders  back  into  their  own  dominions  beyond  the 
Pillars  and  liberated  the  countries  whose  existence  had 
been  threatened. 

The  legend  further  declares  that  after  this  victory 
over  the  most  powerful  foe  in  the  western  world,  there 
was  an  extensive  earthquake,  and  the  Hellenes  were 
swallowed  up  and  annihiliated  and  the  great  island  of 
Atlantis  disappeared  and  was  swallowed  up  beneath 
the  waves  of  the  sea  of  Atlas,  the  western  ocean  beyond 
Mount  Atlas,  on  the  northern  coast  of  Africa.  Some 
writers  give  this  in  explanation  of  the  shallows  which 
are  found  off  the  west  coast  of  Africa  north  of  the 
equator. 

After  centuries   of  fruitless   effort  to  establish  the 
whereabouts  of  this  mythical  island  of  Atlantis,  Leo 
Frobenius,    a    German    explorer,    in    January,    1911, 
claimed  to  have  discovered  incontestable  evidence  that 
the  lost  continent  of  Atlantis  was  not  an  island  but  a 
region  in  Togo  or  Togoland,  in  Guinea,  between  Da- 
homy   and  Ashantee  in  Western  Africa,  close  to  the 
equator.     His  proof  is  based  on  the  fact  that  he  found 
in  the  locality  indicated,  the  head  of  a  man  carved  in 
bronze,   of   superior  workmanship,   on   which  was   en- 
graved the  insignia  of  Poseidon,  whom  the  Greeks  wor- 
shipped  as   god   of   the   sea,    and  whom  the   Romans 
called  Neptune.     The  legend  further  associates  the  god 
Neptune  with  the  founding  of  Atlantis.     The  head  is 
not   solid   bronze,   but  hollow,  indicating  the   superior 
skill  of  the  workmen  who  produced  it,  and  wholly  un- 
like anything  that  the  natives  of  Guinea  or  Dahomy 
or  Ashantee  could  possibly  have  constructed.     Frobe- 
nius further  declares  that  the  features  are  of  "  faultless 
mold,  finely  traced,  and  of  slightly  Mongolian  type." 
As  to  what  other  and  further  proofs  this  enterprising 
explorer  has  to  establish  his  claim  to  having  discovered 
the  mythical  land  of  Atlantis,  we  are  not  informed.     It 


22 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


can  scarcely  be  assumed,  however,  that  the  discovery 
in  Guinea  of  a  bronze  head  of  Poseidon  is  sufficient 
without  more,  to  establish  the  authenticity  of  a  legend, 
which  for  centuries  has  been  classed  among  the  enter- 
taining fables  of  the  writers  of  antiquity. 

The  doom  of  Tyre  pronounced  by  the  prophet  Eze- 
kiel,  above  referred  to,  was  uttered  more  than  two  and 
a  half  centuries  after  Homer's  time,  if  we  may  adopt 
the  chronology  assigned  by  Herodotus,  who  declares 
that  Homer  flourished  about  four  hundred  years  before 
his  day.  Herodotus  flourished  B.  C.  450,  having  been 
born  B.  C.  484.  He  did  not  survive  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  and  died  probably  about  B.  C.  429.  The  lan- 
guage used  by  the  prophet,  however  (Ezekiel,  xxvii),  is 
instructive  in  connection  with  the  reference  made  to  the 
geography  of  lands,  countries  and  cities  of  which  Tyre 
formed  the  commercial  centre,  and  the  nations  and  cities 
with  whom  it  traded,  and  corroborates  the  theory  as 
to  the  locality  of  some  of  the  countries  carrying  on 
trade  with  the  sons  of  Javan,  who  were  identified  with 
the  Hellenes.  Ezekiel  foretells  the  doom  of  the  great 
city  of  the  Phoenicians,  in  the  following  poem,*  which 
is  given  in  part,  as  translated  by  Professor  Farrar 
Fenton,  from  the  Hebrew  and  Chaldee. 


•You,  who  reside  at  the  ports  of  the  sea,— 
Who  trade  with  the  Peoples  of  numerous  isles, 
Thus  says  the  Almighty  Jehovah  to  Teur, 
You  boast  — '  I  am  perfect  in  beauty !  * 
Your  bounds  are  the  heart  of  the  ocean. 
You  builders  have  finished  your  charms  I 

'They  built  you  with  cypress  from  Senir, 
For  your  decks  they  used  Lebanon  cedar, 
And  they  took  it  to  form  your  high  masts,  — 
Bashan's  oak  trees  supplied  you  with  oars. 
Your  benches  were  ivory  and  box  from  Kithim, 


*Ese]c.,  Chap,  xxvii. 


EZEKIEL   POEETELLS   DOOM    OP   TTEE 

Your  gay  flag  was  fine  linen  of  Egypt, 

Your  sails  were  rich  purple  from  Alishah*s  Isles  I 


23 


••  You  traded  with  Tharshish  for  all  kinds  of  wealth. 
For  silver,  for  iron,  for  tin,  and  for  lead ; 
They  purchased  your  mercantile  wares. 
Javan,  Thubal,  and  Meshek  all  traded  with  you, 
Giving  bodies  of  men,  and  bronze  goods  for  your  stores. 
The  House  of  Togramah  with  horses  and  chargers, 
And  mules  have  all  purchased  your  goods. 

••  Sons  of  Dedan  dealt  with  you,  and  many  Isles  traded, 
Handing  ebony,  ivory,  in  change  for  your  cash. 
And  Aram  bought  much  of  your  factory  products;  — 
With  emeralds,  and  purple,  and  muslin,  and  lace. 
And  coral,  and  rubies,  they  paid  for  your  wares. 
Judah,  and  Israel's  land  were  your  dealers; 
For  fine  wheat,  and  balms,  and  for  honey  and  oil,  — 
And  marbles,  they  purchased  from  you. 

"  Damask  purchased  much  that  you  made, 
With  the  rich  wine  of  Helbon,  and  whitest  of  wool. 
Dan  and  Javan  bought  cloth  in  your  markets; 
They  sold  you  wrought  iron,  and  cassia  and  spices; 
Dedan  sold  you  rich  saddles  for  riding; 
The  Arabs  and  princes  of  Kedar  dealt  with  you, — 
Lambs,  sheep,  and  fine  goats  were  their  goods. 
The  merchants  of  Sheba  and  Ramah  were  traders. 
With  the  best  of  all  spices,  and  all  precious  gems. 
And  gold  which  they  paid  for  your  wares. 


K 


Haran,  and  Kanah,  and  Aden,  with  all  Sheba's  merchants, 

And  Ashur  and  Kilmad  were  trading. 

They  bought  of  you  fine  purple  fabrics. 

And  laces,  and  braids  of  mixed  hues, 

And  Cables  well  twisted,  and  cedars  they  purchased. 


(i 


Ships  of  Tarshish  transported  your  trade, 

And  extended  your  power  in  the  heart  of  the  seas. 

But  your  sailors  have  brought  you  to  breakers; 

The  eastern  wind  wrecks  in  the  midst  of  the  sea; 

Your  bullion,  your  cargoes,  your  merchants,  and  seamen. 

And  captains,  constructors,  shipbuilders  and  brokers. 

With  all  the  bold  warriors  about  you. 

With  all  those  collected  within  you  will  fall. 

In  the  depth  of  the  sea  on  the  day  when  you  fall! 


^4  MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GEEECE 

"  At  the  sound  of  the  shriek  of  your  pUots, 
The  breakers  will  tremble;  — 

All  who  handle  the  ropes  will  descend  from  their  ships. 
The  sea-captains  and  sailors  will  stand  on  the  land, 
And  wiU  send  up  their  cries  and  will  bitterly  shriek. 
Cast  dust  on  their  heads,  and  will  roll  on  the  sand-hills. 
And  strip  themselves  for  you,  and  clothe  them  in  sacks. 
And  weep  with  soul-anguish  and  bitterly  grieve. 
And  raising  their  wail,  they  will  chant  over  you,  — 

"*OhI    Who  was  like  Tzur  in  the  midst  of  the  waters? 
Many  nations  were  fed  by  your  trade  on  the  seas ! 
By  your  great  wealth  and  traffic  and  kingdoms  grew  rich 
Now  the  breakers  have  wrecked  in  the  trough  of  the  seal 
Your  cargo  and  crew  sink  with  you  to  its  bed ! 
All  dwelling  in  islands  are  stupefied  at  you ! 
And  their  monarchs  quivering  have  terrified  looks  I 

The  mercantile  nations  scream  at  you  in  terror, 

"  You  were,"  —  but  you  never  shall  rise  up  again.* 


I »» 


It  may  be  profitable  to  inquire  into  the  chronology 
of  the  events  which  transpired  during  the  childhood  of 
the  race  when  the  world  was  young.  Historical  events 
of  a  country  should  be  studied,  not  from  a  standpoint 
of  isolation,  but  in  connection  with  contemporaneous 
history,  which  adds  materially  to  human  interest.  The 
conduct  of  those  who  guided  the  movements  of  men 
and  nations  must  be  judged  in  view  of  all  the  facts 
which  go  to  make  up  the  historical  setting,  and  in  their 
proper  perspective. 

The  question  involving  the  antiquity  of  man,  presents 
a  problem  which  has  not  yet  been  entirely  solved.  His- 
tory begins  with  an  age  of  myth  and  fable.  The  ob- 
servation is  of  universal  application  that  oral  tradition 
always  precedes  written  history.  There  is  no  longer 
any  question  that  man  inhabited  the  globe  thousands 
of  years  before  the  dawn  of  history.  It  was  peopled 
for  ages  before  the  birth  of  civilization,  that  is  before 
the  advent  of  what  we  may  term  historic  man,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  men  of  the  Stone  Age,  whose  bodies 
were  covered  with  hair;   who  used  fire,  made  bows  and 


ANTIQUITY    OF    PLITDOWN    SKULL 


25 


arrows,  and  weapons  of  stone  and  flint  with  which  to 
protect  themselves  from  wild  beasts,  and  to  carry  on 
rude  and  desultory  intestine  wars. 

Late  in  1912  a  skull  was  found  in  England  by  Charles 
Dawson,  a  geologist,  at  PHtdown  common,  about  seven 
miles  north  of  Folkestone.  The  anthropologists  on  ex- 
amining it,  became  intensely  interested,  and  after  ma- 
ture deliberation  proclaimed  their  belief,  that  the  Plit- 
down  skull  was  that  of  an  individual  of  the  Pliocene 
age,  who  lived  on  this  planet  500,000  years  ago.  This 
conclusion  was  based  on  the  hypothesis  as  to  the  an- 
tiquity of  the  strata  in  which  the  skull  was  found. 
"  Lime  deposits,"  it  was  said,  "  in  caves  in  which  similar 
skulls  and  bones  have  been  discovered,  were  under  sta- 
lagmite, which  forming  at  the  present  rate,  would  take 
at  least  600,000  years  to  complete  the  formation. 
Flint  tools  have  also  been  found  in  that  formation, 
estimated  to  be  from  20,000  to  500,000  years  old."  So 
stands  the  record. 

In  view  of  this  verdict  by  men  eminent  in  this  branch 
of  scientific  investigation,  the  world  is  mute.  The  or- 
dinary mortal  has  no  means  of  refuting  this  dogmatic 
declaration,  as  to  the  archaic  existence  of  prehistoric 
man.  This  Plitdown  skull  had  one-half  of  the  lower 
jaw  and  two  teeth  intact.  It  was  restored  by  the  head 
of  the  Geological  Department  of  the  South  Kensington 
Museum.  The  work  was  done  with  plaster  of  paris 
casts,  and  teeth  of  a  gorilla  were  placed  in  the  lower 
jaw.  But  members  of  the  Royal  Anthropological  In- 
stitute of  Great  Britain  contend  that  the  skull  had  not 
been  properly  restored.  This  assumption  was  based 
upon  the  theory  that  it  was  not  the  skull  of  a  gorilla, 
but  that  of  a  man  of  low  type.  They  contended  that 
it  had  the  prognathous,  or  square  jaw  of  the  gorilla, 
but  that  it  also  had  the  skull  development  to  show  that 
it  was  higher  than  the  ape.  The  claim  is,  that  a  being 
in  the  line  of  human  descent  from  half  a  million  years 


26 


MILITAKY   AKNALS   OF    GREECE 


ago,  would  have  teeth,  resembling  the  human  being  of 
to-day,  just  as  closely,  and  no  more  closely,  than  the 
anthropoid  ape  of  that  period,  would  have  teeth  re- 
sembling the  ape  of  to-day.  This  late  "  find,"  it  is  now 
claimed,  affords  new  and  convincing  proof  of  the  rela- 
tion of  man  to  the  anthropoid  ape. 

There  has  been  no  claim  advanced,  thus   far,  how- 
ever, that  this  prehistoric  man  was  endowed  with  an 
intellect,  or  with  a  soul,  clothed  with  the  heritage  of 
immortality.      The    better    opinion    seems    to    prevail 
among  a  class  of  scientists,  that  what  we  term  civiliza- 
tion was  introduced  by  men  who  appeared  as  strangers 
among  beings  who  had  inhabited  the  world  for  ages. 
In  other  words,  the  analogy  used  by  the  Apostle  Paul 
accords  with  the  discoveries  of  modern  science.     He  ar- 
gues that  in  the  order  of  things  there  is  the  natural 
man  and  the  spiritual  man,  and  declares  that  that  was 
not  first  which  is  spiritual,  but  that  which  is  natural, 
and  afterwards  that  which  is  spiritual.     We  are  jus- 
tified in  applying  this  reasoning  to  the  natural  man, 
the  untutored  and  unlettered  savage,  as  distinguished 
from  intellectual  man.     The  declaration  in  Genesis  is 
not  repugnant  to  the  theory  that  there  were  men  in  the 
world  ages  before  Adam.     The  conclusion  is  justified 
that  the  account  of  the  creation  in  Genesis  indicates,  in 
the  Adam  of  the  Scriptures,  the  advent  of  intellectual 
man  into  the  world,  as  distinguished  from  the  primitive 
inhabitants  of  the  Pliocene  age.     Adam  was  endowed 
with  intellect,  with  soul  or  spirit,  when  the  Almighty 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life.     Then  it 
was  that  man  became  "  a  living  soul." 

Thus  the  discoveries  of  science  justify  the  conclusion 
that  historic  man  is  not  coeval  with  the  early  geological 
periods  of  creation.  His  origin  is  assigned  to  what  is 
termed  the  human  jieriod,  which  is  comparatively  recent. 
His  presence  on  the  globe  is  revealed  by  the  rude  imple- 
ments and  weapons  of  stone,  metal  or  bone  which  he 


TABLE   OF   CHRONOLOGY 


27 


used.  These  afford  some  proof  of  his  antiquity.  This 
proof,  however,  is  not  conclusive,  but  suggests  some 
basis  for  the  classification  of  the  periods  which  reveal 
traces  of  man,  designated  as  the  Stone  Age,  the  Bronze 
Age,  and  the  Iron  Age.  These  periods  indicate  also 
the  general  order  of  succession  in  the  formative  ages  of 
the  world's  creation,  because  the  belief  is  general  that 
man  used  stone  long  before  he  understood  the  use  of 
metals. 

Archbishop  Usher,  in  his  scheme  of  Biblical  chronol- 
ogy, argues  that  Adam  was  created  in  Eden  forty  cen- 
turies before  the  birth  of  Christ.  His  views  on  this 
point  cannot  be  sustained  on  the  assumption  that  Adam 
was  the  first  of  the  human  species  to  inhabit  the  globe. 
The  chronology  of  Usher,  however,  is  useful  in  support 
of  the  contention  of  some  modern  theologians,  that  the 
Adam  of  Genesis  relates  to  the  advent  of  the  historic 
or  intellectual  man  as  distinguished  from  the  primitive 
man  of  the  Stone  Age. 

For  these  reasons  we  may  use  the  date  given  by 
Archbishop  Usher  as  a  starting-point  in  the  following 
chronological  table  commencing  with  the  advent  of  his- 
toric man.  It  has  been  compiled  from  authentic 
sources,  the  result  of  the  prodigious  labors  of  scholars 
and  archaeologists,  covering  years  of  research  and  es- 
pecially biblical  scholars,  and  students  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. While  we  cannot  expect  such  a  table  to  be  abso- 
lutely acurate  it  is  doubtless  approximately  correct. 

B.C.  4,004,,  The  date  assigned  by  Archbishop  Usher  to  indicate 
the  creation  of  Adam.  It  may  suggest  the  advent  of 
historic  man  into  the  world  as  distinguished  from  a 
prehistoric  people,  covered  with  hair,  who  used  fire 
and  carved  rude  pictures  on  the  rocks.    See  tupra, 

"     3074.    Death  of  Adam. 

**  2349.  The  Deluge  and  destruction  of  the  human  race,  save 
only  Noah  and  his  family. 


**     2500  I 

M     0200  \  Pyj*a™i<is  constructed  in  Egypt. 


**     9247.    Birth  of  Abraham,  the  father  of  the  Israelitlsh  race. 


28 


MILITARY   ANNAUS   OF   GREECE 


u 

1920. 

M 

1898. 

« 

1898. 

f( 

1857. 

M 

1837. 

«t 

1732. 

t( 

1729. 

M 

1706. 

M 

1689. 

a 

1688. 

H 

1635. 

M 

1500. 

M 

1491. 

B.C.  1921.    Abraham  journeyed  westward  from  Ur,  of  the  Chal- 

dees,  into  Canaan. 

Abraham  driven  by  famine,  journeyed  into  Egypt. 

Sodom  and  Gomorrah  destroyed. 

Isaac  born. 

Abraham  died. 

Birth  of  the  patriarch  Jacob. 

Isaac  died. 

Joseph  sold  as  a  slave  by  his  brethren  into  Egypt. 

Joseph,  a  favorite  in  the  Court  of  Pharaoh,  at  the 

height  of  his  prosperity. 

Jacob  died  in  Egypt. 

Approximate  date  of  death  of  Joseph. 

Moses  born  in  Egypt. 

Job  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Vt. 

Period  of  the  ten  plagues  visited  upon  Pharaoh  in 

Egypt. 

Moses,   having   slain    an   Egyptian   taskmaster,   flees 

from  Egypt. 

Moses  leads  the  children  of  Israel  from  the  land  of 

bondage,  across  the  Red  Sea,  into  the  Wilderness. 

Moses  died  on  Pisgah,  in  sight  of  Canaan. 
1324. )  Rameses    II,    greatest    of   the    Pharaohs,    reigns   in 
1253.  (  Egypt.  * 

1184.    End  of  the  Trojan  War,  and  destruction  of  Troy. 

Saul  chosen  King  of  Israel. 

David  fights  with  the  giant  Goliath  and  slays  him. 

Saul  kills  himself  at  the  battle  of  Gilboa. 

David  made  King  of  Judah. 

Death  of  King  David. 

Solomon  succeeds  to  the  throne  of  David,  his  father. 

Queen  of  Sheba  visits  Solomon  at  Jerusalem. 

Death  of  King  Solomon. 
975.  )  Rehoboam  and 
955.  J  Jeroboam  reign  in  Israel. 
955.    Abijam  reigns  in  Judah. 

Nadab  reigns  in  IsraeL 

Ahab  reigns  in  Israel. 

Ahab  slain  at  Ramoth  Gilead. 

Jehoshaphat  reigns. 

Jehoram  reigns  in  Israel. 

Jehu  reigns  in  Judah. 

Jehoahaz  reigns  in  Israel. 

Homer  flourishes.     Homeric  poems  composed. 

Amaziah  reigns  in  Judah. 

{Ahaz  \ 

Hezekiah  and  l  reign  in  Israel. 
Hoshea  J 

740.    Samaria  taken  by  Sennacherib   and  the  Jews  car- 
ried into  captivity. 
723.    Sennacherib  besieges  Jerusalem. 


M 

«( 
M 

M 
M 
<t 
U 
M 
«« 
** 
(( 
M 


M 

M 
M 
W 
M 


1491. 


1491. 
1451. 


1095. 
1056. 
1056. 
1056. 
1015. 
1015. 

992. 

975. 


930. 
925. 
897. 
897. 
895. 
884. 
856. 
850. 
839. 


TABLE    OF    CHRONOLOGY 


29 


B.C. 

710. 

M 

698. 

M 

a 

641. 
599. 

538. 
527. 

u 

ft 

M 

525. 
522. 
522. 
522. 

512. 


"       500. 
*«       492. 


« 


490. 


« 

484. 

<{ 

485. 

f{ 

480. 

« 

*tH/. 

t€ 

479. 

U 

479. 

U 

431. 

(( 

404. 

Sennacherib's  army  of  185,000  men  destroyed  by  a 
miracle  before  Jerusalem. 
Manasseh  '\ 

and        Vxeign  in  Israel. 
Josiah        j 

Nebuchadnezzar   takes   the    city    of   Jerusalem    and 
carries  the  Jews  into  captivity  to  Babylon, 
Babylon  taken  by  Cyrus  the  Great. 
Cyrus  died  while  on  a  military  expedition  near  Chi- 
nese Tartary;   succeeded  by  his  son  Cambyses. 
Cambyses  at  the  head  of  a  vast  army  conquers  Egypt. 
Cambyses  died  on  his  return  from  Egypt. 
Smerdis  usurps  the  throne  of  Persia. 
Smerdis   slain.     Darius,  son  of   Hystaspes,   ascends 
the  throne  of  Persia. 

Darius  leads  an  expedition  into  Europe,  crosses  the 
Danube  (the  Ister),  and  invades  Scythia.  Retreats 
into  Thrace,  conquers  Macedonia. 
Sardis,  the  capital  of  Lydia,  burned  by  the  lonians 
and  Athenians.  Ionian  War  continues. 
Darius,  in  revenge  for  the  burning  of  Sardis,  sends 
an  expedition  to  invade  Greece.  His  fleet  lost  off 
Mount  Athos. 

Darius  tits  out  •  a  new  expedition  under  Datis  and 
Artaphernes  to  invade  Greece.     His  army  defeated 
at  Marathon. 
Herodotus  bom. 

Darius  died.    His  son  Xerxes  succeeds  to  the  throne 
of  Persia. 

Xerxes  with  the  greatest  army  ever  assembled,  in- 
vades Greece.     His  fleet  defeated  at  Salamis. 
Euripides  born  at  Salamis  the  day  the  battle  wag 
fought. 

Mardonius    remains    in    Greece    after    the    flight    of 
Xerxes.    His  army  defeated  at  Plataea. 
The  Persians  defeated  at  Mycal6  in  Asia  Minor. 
Peloponnesian  War  begun  by  the  surprise  at  Plat^a. 
Peloponnesian  War  ends. 


CHAPTER    ni 


HOMER 


I  HE  first  military  annals  of  Hellas  were  writ- 
ten in  poetry  and  are  contained  in  the  Iliad. 
The  Hellenic  heroes  portrayed  by  Homer 
contended  on  the  plains  of  Troy,  and  the 
story  of  that  memorable  contest  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  kingdom  of  Priam  is  embalmed  in  the 
greatest  epic  ever  written.  In  that  struggle  gods 
mingled  with  mortals,  and  enabled  them  to  perform  the 
wonderful  feats  of  arms,  which  it  was  the  ambition  of 
their  descendants  to  emulate.  The  Iliad  and  the  Odys- 
sey were  the  Bible  of  the  Greeks,  and  from  its  pages 
they  imbibed  their  inspiration. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  estimate  the  influence  of 
the  poems  of  Homer  in  connection  with  the  martial 
achievements  of  the  Greeks.  Their  military  annals 
represent  a  series  of  the  most  remarkable  campaigns 
in  history.  In  emulation  of  the  heroes,  whose  deeds  of 
valor  Homer  paints  in  vivid  colors,  the  armies  and 
navies  of  Greece  were  inspired  to  contend  with  the 
armies  of  Persia,  and  beat  back  the  myriads  of  Darius 
and  Xerxes  at  Marathon  and  Salamis,  at  Plataea  and 
Mycale,  and  to  prosecute  against  the  most  formidable 
empire  in  the  world,  a  war  of  expulsion,  which  drove 
the  Persians  from  Europe  and  the  iEgean  and  the 
Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor.  Miltiades  and  Themisto- 
cles,  Leonidas  and  Cimon  are  names  to  conjure  with. 
Alexander  was  stimulated  in  his  ambition  to  conquer  the 
world  by  the  example  of  Achilles  on  the  plains  of  Troy, 
from  whom,  through  his  mother,  he  claimed  direct  lin- 

30 


WHO    WAS    HOMER 


31 


eage.  The  poems  of  Homer  stand  unrivalled  in  litera- 
ture, and  the  example  set  by  the  heroes  of  the  Iliad 
and  the  Odyssey,  enabled  Greece  to  secure  her  inde- 
pendence, to  subdue  the  empire  of  Asia,  and  to  estab- 
lish for  all  mankind  the  lasting  benefits  derived  from 
Greek  letters,  philosophy  and  art,  as  a  noble  heritage 
to  posterity,  the  influence  of  which,  on  the  destinies  of 
the  world,  is  inestimable. 

The  Greek  poets  of  antiquity  stand  first  in  the  order 
of  intellectual  superiority.  In  view  of  the  grand  im- 
agery, the  charm,  the  variety  and  wealth  of  color  that 
abounds  in  the  epics  of  Homer,  it  may  be  safely  said 
that  human  genius  has  never  soared  higher  on  the  wings 
of  fancy.  What  can  surpass  the  divine  conception 
which  prompted  the  early  poets  of  Greece  to  write  with 
the  imperishable  stars  on  the  sable  robes  of  night,  the 
achievements  of  their  heroes.  What  they  have  written 
in  the  sky  is  enduring  as  earth,  stable  as  the  heavens. 
As  the  stars  are  imperishable,  the  sublime  conception  of 
the  Greek  poets  is  likewise  immortal.  We  look  into  the 
dome  of  heaven,  and  read  there  the  names  of  the  heroes 
who  sailed  with  Jason  to  the  confines  of  the  world  for 
the  golden  fleece,  and  who  contended  with  the  aid  of  the 
gods  in  feats  of  arms,  Castor  and  PoUux  and  the  ship 
Argo  in  which  they  sailed.  Behold  also  as  representing 
the  gods,  Arcturus  and  his  sons,  and  Orion  the  mighty 
hunter. 

Nobody  knows  who  Homer  was,  or  when  or  where  he 
lived.  All  authentic  information  as  to  his  identity  or 
personality  has  perished  beyond  hope  of  recovery. 
Homer,  then,  as  to  his  individuality,  remains  a  riddle, 
which  the  genius  of  modern  scholarship  has  been  unable 
to  solve.  Professor  Symonds,  in  his  "  Study  of  the 
Greek  Poets,"  admirably  expresses  the  idea  as  to  the 
existence  of  Homer  when  he  says :  "  Some  Homer  did 
exist.  Some  great  single  poet  intervened  beyond  the 
lost  chaos  of  legendary  material  and  the  cosmos  of 


32 


MILITAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


artistic  beauty  which  we  now  possess."  As  to  the  unity 
of  Homer,  Professor  Symonds  is  equally  clear.  The 
theory  that  a  body  of  editors  called  together  by  Pisis- 
tratus  "  gave  its  immortal  outline  to  the  colossus  of 
the  Iliad,  and  wove  the  magic  web  of  the  Odyssey,"  he 
considers  as  absolutely  ridiculous,  and  absurd.  His 
views  in  this  regard  are  supported  by  modern  scholars, 
who  reject  entirely  the  theory  of  many  Homers,  ad- 
vanced late  in  the  eighteenth  century  (1795)  by  Pro- 
fessor Wolf  in  his  celebrated  Prolegomena. 

There  was   mythology   long   before   Homer.     Who 
taught  the  Greeks  mythology?    Who  taught  them  that 
Zeus  was  supreme  god  of  the  universe ;  that  in  admira- 
tion of  their  brotherly  love,  he  set  Castor  and  Pollux 
in  the  sky  as  the  constellation  which  the  Romans  called 
Gemini,  or  the  morning  and  evening  star.?     What  is 
back  of  Homer?     The  Greeks  spoke  a  wonderful  lan- 
guage,  the  most   musical,   euphonious   and   expressivp 
ever  used  among  men.      From   what   soil   sprung  the 
flowers  of  poetry  which  formed  in  poetic  fancy  the 
legends  and  ideals  of  the  Greeks.     These  Hellenes,  who- 
ever they  were,  in  the  childhood  of  the  race,  before  the 
existence  of  literature  of  which  we  have  any  knowl- 
edge,   save    the    sublime    religious    poetry    and   litera- 
ture of  the  Israelites,  expressed  themselves  in  poetry. 
Speech  in  song,  seems  to  have  been  first  in  order,  be- 
cause  poetry  precedes   philosophy  and   history.      The 
universe,  in  their  eyes,  was  a  poem.     On  the  subject  of 
Greek  myths.  Professor  Symonds  says,  that  when  myth- 
ology took  form  among  the  Greeks  they  spoke  of  the 
sun  as  a  shepherd,  and  the  clouds  were  his  sheep ;  or  an 
archer,  and  the  sunbeams  were  his  arrows.    The  sea  was 
a  husky  voiced  and  turbulent  old  man,  who  shook  the 
earth  in  his  anger,  and  had  the  white-maned  billows  of 
the  deep  for  horses.     Spring  was  a  youth,  beloved  like 
Hyacinthus,  by  the  sun,  or  like  Adonis,  by  the  queen 
of  beauty.     Thus  they  conceived  the  world  and  nature, 


CONSTELLATIONS    OF    HOMEE 


33 


and  the  tales  they  told  about  them  has  preserved  the 
substance  of  their  intellectual  activity.  Their  thoughts 
were  spoken  in  poetry,  and  invested  with  an  imperish- 
able form  of  art.  Zeus  was  originally  the  open  sky, 
Pallas  the  dawn,  Phoebus  and  Artemis  the  sun  and  the 
moon.  All  was  God,  and  their  religion  was  expressed 
in  pantheism  and  mythology.  "  Men  thought  in  pic- 
tures and  recorded  their  impression  of  the  world  in 
stories.  The  powers  of  nature  were  conceived  as  per- 
sons, and  dignified  with  superhuman  attributes." 

The  knowledge  of  the  physical  universe  as  Homer 
knew  it,  and  all  that  was  known  concerning  it  in  the 
Homeric  age,  was  circumscribed  within  narrow  limits. 
The  Chaldeans  diligently  studied  the  heavens,  and  be- 
lieved in  the  magic  influence  of  the  stars.  They  had 
marked  out  an  imaginary  path  in  the  sky,  in  which  they 
believed  moved  the  sun,  moon  and  certain  particular 
stars  and  constellations.  This  path  they  divided  into 
twelve  signs,  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  to  correspond 
with  the  appearance  of  the  moon,  which  became  full- 
orbed  twelve  times  each  year.  These  phenomena  gave  to 
the  Chaldeans  the  idea  of  the  divisions  of  time.  Thus 
the  Circle  of  the  Zodiac  and  some  of  the  constellations 
were  known  before  Homer  was  bom.  The  Pleiades  and 
the  Hyades  and  the  great  star  figure  of  Orion  were 
familiar  to  Homer,  as  they  were  to  the  early  inhabitants 
of  Mesopotamia,  and  to  the  Hebrews.  Job,  who  dwelt 
in  the  land  of  Uz  fifteen  hundred  years  before  the 
Christian  era,  was  familiar  with  the  astronomy  of  his 
day.  In  devout  adoration  he  declares,  concerning  the 
power  of  Jehovah, 

"  Which  maketh  Arcturiis,  Orion  and  Pleiades, 
And  the  chambers  of  the  south."* 

He  listened  to  the  challenge  of  the  Almighty  concern- 
ing his  own  weakness : 

»Job  ix,  9. 


34  MILITAEY   ANNALS   OF   GBEECE 

••  Canst  thou  bind  the  sweet  influences  of  Pleiades, 
Or  loose  the  bands  of  Orion? 
Canst  thou  bring  forth  Mazzaroth  in  his  season? 
Or  canst  thou  guide  Arcturus  with  his  sons? 
Knowest  thou  the  ordinances  of  heaven? 
Canst  thou  set  the  dominion  thereof  in  the  earth?"* 

Of  these  constellations  Homer  sings  when  he  de- 
scribes Vulcan  moulding  the  shield  of  Achilles : 

"  Thereon  were  figur'd  earth,  and  sky,  and  sea. 
The  ever-circling  sun,  and  full-orb'd  moon. 
And  all  the  signs  that  crown  the  vault  of  Heav*n; 
Pleiads  and  Hyads,  and  Orion's  might. 
And  Arctos  calFd  the  Wain,  who  wheels  on  high 
His  circling  course,  and  on  Orion  waits; 
Sole  star  that  never  bathes  in  th'  ocean  wave."  ■ 

The  knowledge  of  the  ancients,  however,  concerning 
the  earth  and  the  solar  system,  was  comparatively  noth- 
ing. They  had  no  conception  of  the  fact  that  the  earth 
was  a  globe,  or  that  it  was  one  of  eight  planets  held 
in  their  orbits  by  fixed  laws  of  gravitation,  and  gov- 
erned in  their  revolutions  about  the  sun  by  what  the 
scientists  call  the  centrifugal  and  centripetal  forces. 
In  the  days  of  Homer,  the  Greeks  believed  the  earth  to 
be  a  horizontal  circular  plane,  about  the  outer  edges 
of  which  flowed  a  copious  river,  never  disturbed  by 
storms  or  tides,  a  never  failing  source  which  supplied 
abundantly  the  seas  and  rivers  of  the  earth.  This 
steady  flood  around  the  confines  of  the  world  the  an- 
cients called  the  ocean,  on  the  extreme  outer  edges  of 
which  was  the  entrance  to  the  under-world,  a  land  of 
gloom  and  shadow. 

Over  this  great  circular  plane,  with  its  seas  and 
rivers,  its  mountains  and  valleys,  and  covering  it  like 
an  immense  dome  of  azure,  was  the  sky,  whose  blue  rim 
rested  at  every  point  on  the  outer  circle  of  the  ocean, 

*  Job  xxxviii,  31,  32. 

"The  Iliad,  by  Earl  of  Derby,  Book  xviii,  545-551. 


homer's  world 


35 


forming  a  vast  concave  of  ether,  the  centre  arch  sup- 
ported by  Atlas.  In  this  firmament  dwelt  the  gods, 
over  whose  assemblies  Zeus  presided.  He  was  the  su- 
preme deity  who  ruled  the  destinies  of  gods  and  men, 
and  ordained  the  law  of  heaven  and  earth. 

In  the  centre  of  the  earth,  the  Greeks  in  their  primi- 
tive geography  located  ]\Iount  Olympus,  on  whose 
many-peaked  summit  the  gods  convened  in  council ;  from 
whence  they  visited  the  earth,  and  took  part  in  the 
affairs  of  mortals.  On. the  side  of  Parnassus,  at  the 
foot  of  the  twin  peaks,  not  far  from  Helicon,  was 
the  temple  of  Delphi,  in  which  the  oracle  or  Pythia, 
the  priestess  of  the  temple,  received  communications 
directly  from  the  gods. 

The  circular  plane  of  the  earth  was  indented  with 
bays,  and  crossed  by  the  sea  (the  Mediterranean)  which 
extended  to  the  ^Egean  and  thence  through  the  Helles- 
pont and  the  Bosphorus  to  the  Euxine,  or  Black  Sea. 
Its  inhabitants  were  Hellenes.  Its  remote  confines  was  a 
terra  incognita,  a  land  of  mystery  and  enchantment. 
To  the  mind  of  the  Greek  these  remote  parts  of  the 
earth  presented  an  enigma  and  a  riddle,  which  could 
only  be  solved  with  the  help  of  the  gods.  These  regions 
of  mystery  were  filled  with  giants  and  monsters,  ser- 
pents and  dragons,  and  enchantresses ;  and  beasts,  part 
human,  part  animal;  part  bird  or  part  reptile. 
These  horrid  monsters  usually  guarded  fair  maidens, 
rich  treasures,  or  captive  heroes.  Other  unknown  parts 
were  believed  to  be  lands  of  perpetual  summer  and 
eternal  bliss. 

In  the  far  north  of  Homer's  world  dwelt  the  Hyper- 
boreans in  a  land  of  perpetual  summer,  which  was  sepa- 
rated from  Thrace  on  the  extreme  north  by  a  chain  of 
lofty  mountains,  whose  peaks  were  covered  with  snow. 
These  rugged  mountains  were  pierced  with  gloomy 
caverns,  the  home  of  the  north  winds,  the  severe  blasts 
of  winter.     They  issued  from  their  dens  and  covered 


3<5 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


SHIELD   OP   ACHILLES 


the  mountain  peaks  with  snow,  and  congealed  the  rivers 
of  the  north.  None  could  pierce  the  abode  of  the  winds, 
and  favored  by  the  gods,  they  were  exempt  from  dis- 
ease and  old  age,  and  relieved  from  the  toils  of  war.  In 
the  far  south,  beyond  the  confines  of  Ethiopia,  dwelt 
the  pigmies.  On  the  coasts  of  Libya  were  the  Lotos- 
eaters,  in  the  dreamy  atmosphere  which  seemed  always 
afternoon,  and  "  all  around  the  coast  the  languid  air 
did  swoon."  They  were  a  happy  people  frequently 
visited  by  the  gods,  from  Olympus,  who  shared  their 
feasts  and  banquets.  In  the  far  west,  were  the  Elysian 
plains,  where  dwelt  the  fair-haired  Rhadamanthus.  To 
these  fields  of  enchantment,  the  fortunate  mortals  be- 
loved of  the  gods  were  translated  to  enjoy  an  immor- 
tality of  bliss.  They  were  not  permitted  to  taste  of 
death  or  enter  the  gloomy  shades  of  the  under-world. 
Off  these  shores  were  the  Fortunate  Islands,  or  the 
Islands  of  the  Blessed,  where  everlasting  spring  abides. 

Between  the  land  of  the  Lotos-eaters  and  the  plains 
of  Elysium,  separated  from  them  by  broad  plains  and 
lofty  mountains,  dwelt  the  Cyclops,  the  giants  and 
monsters  of  antiquity,  whose  deeds  of  violence  and 
murder  made  all  the  coasts  dangerous  to  the  lost 
mariner.  To  the  west  of  Elysium  were  the  gardens  of 
Hesperus,  where  father  Hesper's  lovely  daughters 
guarded  the  golden  apples  —  "  Hesper,  the  dragon  and 
sisters  three  "  —  the  hallowed  fruit  given  by  eluno  to 
Jupiter  on  their  wedding  day.  Beyond  these  gardens, 
on  the  borders  of  an  unknown  sea,  was  the  Island  of 
Circe,  by  whose  enchanted  wand  the  sailors  of  Ulysses 
were  turned  to  swine. 

Across  the  world,  Helios,  the  sun,  in  his  flaming 
chariot  with  four  milk-white  steeds  made  his  daily  jour- 
ney through  the  arch  of  heaven,  coming  up  out  of  the 
ocean  beyond  Colchis,  and  the  mountains  of  Caucasus, 
in  the  far  east  the  chariot  of  the  sun  was  driven,  until 
at  evening  it  disappeared  behind  the  western  sea,  when 


37 


Night,  with  sable  wing,  began  her  rule,  and  the  moon 
and  stars  shone  forth. 

Such  was  Homer's  world.  Such  he  depicts  on  the 
huge  and  massive  shield  which  Vulcan  divinely  wrought 
for  famed  Achilles.  On  it,  with  cunning  skill,  he 
wrought  a  representation  of  the  heavens  crowned  with 
its  constellations,  the  Pleiades,  the  Hyades,  Orion  and 
the  Great  Bear.  The  moon  also,  and  the  stars  about 
her  like  a  swarm  of  golden  bees.  These  were  engraved 
in  the  boss  or  central  circle.  On  the  outer  circle  or 
circumference,  was  wrought  in  burnished  silver  the 
stream  of  the  ocean,  whose  steady  flow  surrounds  the 
earth,  and  keeps  full  its  seas  and  rivers.  The  inter- 
mediate circle  contained  pictures  of  the  social  and  ma- 
terial world,  a  varied  panorama  of  the  arts  and  pur- 
suits of  man,  in  war  and  in  peace.  In  one  compart- 
ment is  shown  a  city  in  time  of  peace.  In  the  streets 
processions  sang  nuptial  songs  to  celebrate  the  wed- 
ding feasts.  Flutes  and  lyres  made  music  for  the  dan- 
cers, while  women  at  their  doors  stood  and  admired. 
Then  strife  arose  between  two  men  contending  for  a 
fine,  the  price  of  one  who  had  been  slain.  Then  follows 
the  trial,  and  both  men  were  called  for  sentence,  where 
the  elders  sat  upon  polished  stones  in  a  sacred  circle. 
The  pleaders  were  heard,  and  sentence  voted.  Two 
talents  of  gold,  the  amount  of  the  fine  and  the  sub- 
ject of  the  litigation,  lies  on  the  ground  before  the 
judges. 

Then  is  carved  upon  the  shield  a  city  in  time  of 
war,  besieged  by  hostile  armies,  and  Homer  describes 
the  scene  as  only  Homer  can;  a  bloody  battle,  an 
ambuscade  at  the  watering  place  by  the  river's  side, 
the  dead  and  wounded,  and  the  contest  of  each  for  the 
bodies  of  the  slain. 

Another  scene  represents  agricultural  life;  a  broad 
and  fallow  field  in  which  are  many  ploughmen,  to  each 
of  whom  the  master  gave  a  goblet  of  rich  wine,  as 


11 


38 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OP    GBEECE 


THE    UNITY   OF    HOMES 


39 


dark  behind  the  plough,  the  ridges  lay  "  like  real  fur- 
rows, though  engraved  in  gold."  The  fields  of  wheat 
are  shown,  and  the  reapers  with  their  sickles,  and  the 
binders  tying  fast  the  sheaves,  and  behind  them  the 
boys,  the  gleaners.  The  servants  of  the  master  are 
seen  preparing  a  roasted  ox  beneath  an  oak,  while  the 
maids  knead  for  the  reapers  the  white  meal. 

Then  is  the  scene  of  the  vintage.  The  vineyard,  the 
vines  and  clusters  all  in  gold  on  rows  of  silver  stakes, 
and  the  hedge  round  it.  In  the  midst  of  those  gather- 
ing the  fruit  in  baskets,  the  peasant  youth  plays  his 
lyre  for  the  dancers. 

Then  is  shown  another  pastoral  scene.  A  herd  of 
beeves  coming  lowing  from  their  stalls  to  seek  their 
pasture  by  the  murmuring  stream  among  the  reeds. 
The  herdsmen  with  their  dogs  follow.  Two  lions  are 
seen  who  attack  a  bull  among  the  foremost  cattle. 
The  shepherds,  with  their  dogs,  in  vain  seek  to  rescue 
the  prey  of  the  lions,  who  lap  their  crimson  blood. 

Another  pastoral  scene  is  engraved  upon  the  shield, 
showing  a  broad  pasture  and  pleasant  glade,  the  white 
sheep,  the  shepherds  and  their  huts  in  the  meadows. 

The  final  scene  upon  this  wondrous  shield  represents 
the  Pyrrhic  dance,  invented  by  Da?dalus,  in  Gnossus,  for 
fair-haired  Ariadne.  The  young  men  with  their  swords 
of  gold  and  belts  of  silver.  The  alluring  virgins,  hold- 
ing the  wrists  of  their  companions,  clad  in  linen  robes 
adorned  with  perfumed  garlands. 

Such  is  the  wonderful  shield  of  Acliilles,  as  described 
in  the  Iliad,  embracing  an  epitome  of  the  world  of 
Homer.  In  his  poems  he  celebrates  the  wealth  of  Egyp- 
tian Thebes,  and  the  arts  of  Sidon,  but  says  nothing 
of  Susa,  or  Persepolis,  of  Ecbatana,  or  Babylon,  of 
which  he  doubtless  knew  nothing.  The  eastern  con- 
fines of  Homer's  world  embraced  lower  Egypt, 
Phoenicia,  Phrygia  and  the  plains  of  Troy,  at  the  foot 
of  Mount  Ida.  The  far  East  was  doubtless  an  unknown 


region  in  the  Homeric  age,  which  is  prehistoric,  an  age 
of  legend  and  fable,  of  poetry  and  romance. 

The  inquiry  which  presents  itself,  and  which  remains 
unanswered  is,  who  was  Homer,  and  when  did  he  live. 
As  to  his  identity,  we  have  no  authentic  or  reliable 
evidence.  As  to  the  physical  existence  of  some  Homer, 
however,  there  can  be  no  possible  doubt.  It  is  certain 
that  the  individual  who  wrote  the  epics  associated  with 
the  name  of  Homer,  lived,  and  that  he  composed  the 
Iliad,  and  almost  certainly  the  Odyssey,  although  very 
learned  scholars  have  labored  ingeniously  to  rob  him 
of  the  authorship  of  the  latter. 

As  to  the  unity  of  Homer,  there  are  some  things  that 
would  seem  to  indicate  beyond  doubt  that  one  individual 
produced  the  poems.  The  argument  that  the  greatest 
productions  of  antiquity  are  the  work  of  many  authors, 
is  based  upon  the  hypothesis  that  at  the  remote  period 
when  the  poems  were  written  many  literary  men  lived, 
and  that  l:hey  were  all  endowed  with  the  highest  possible 
intellectual  attainments. 

As  has  been  observed,  the  individuality  of  Homer 
remains  a  riddle.  No  one  knows  who  he  was  or  where 
he  lived.  As  to  the  authorship  of  the  Homeric  poems, 
or  as  it  is  termed,  "  the  unity  of  Homer,"  a  great  con- 
troversy has  arisen  in  recent  years.  It  was  not  until 
the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  (A.  D.  1795)  that 
Professor  Wolf  disturbed  the  literary  world  by  the  pub- 
lication of  his  learned  and  elaborate  argument,  in  which 
the  great  German  scholar  seeks  to  show  that  many 
authors  contributed  to  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey,  and 
thereby  unsettled  the  belief  of  some  as  to  the  unity  of 
Homer.  Volumes  have  been  written  on  the  subject, 
which  it  would  be  impossible  to  analyze  or  review,  within 
the  limits  of  this  chapter. 

One  of  the  arguments  advanced  by  those  who  still 
deny  the  unity  of  Homer,  is  based  upon  the  great 
length   of  the  poems.     The  argument  proceeds  upon 


I 


I 


40 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


THEORIES    ADVANCED 


41 


the  assumption  that  in  the  Homeric  age,  writing,  as 
we  understand  the  art,  was  unknown.  There  is  no 
positive  evidence  to  warrant  the  assumption.  But  the 
contention  that,  because  of  the  extreme  length  of  the 
poems,  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  transmit  them 
through  the  agency  of  human  memory,  if  carried  to  its 
logical  conclusion,  would  argue  Homer  and  his  poems 
out  of  existence.  If  they  could  be  preserved  only  by 
means  of  human  memory,  and  if  they  were  too  extensive 
for  the  memory  to  retain,  it  would  seem  to  follow,  that 
for  the  reason  stated,  they  never  were  preserved,  and 
hence  that  they  do  not  exist.  If  such  a  poem  as  the 
Iliad,  by  reason  of  its  great  length,  could  not  have  been 
retained  in  the  memory  of  the  bard,  or  the  rhapsodist, 
or  of  any  individual,  and  if  there  was  no  means,  then 
devised  of  reducing  it  to  some  intelligible  written  form, 
the  poem  must  of  necessity  have  perished,  long  before 
the  days  of  Pisistratus,  who,  it  is  claimed,  first  caused 
the  poems,  associated  with  the  name  of  Homer,  to  be 
collected,  and  reduced  to  writing.  The  fact  that  we 
have  the  poems  would  seem  to  furnish  a  complete  an- 
swer to  this  argument.  They  are  still  in  existence  and 
are  read  daily  in  our  schools  and  universities,  and  are 
admired  by  men  and  women  of  letters  and  refined 
tastes,  just  as  they  were  by  the  men  of  learning  in 
Athens  in  the  days  of  Pisistratus. 

The  position  of  those  controversialists  who  contend 
that  writing  was  not  discovered  in  Hellas  in  the  Ho- 
meric age,  seems  untenable  also,  when  we  consider  the 
elaborate  and  complex  tissue  of  myth  and  fable  em- 
braced in  the  mythology  which  embodied  the  religious 
conception  of  the  Greeks,  with  which  we  are  made  ac- 
quainted to  some  extent  in  the  Homeric  poems.  If  the 
contention  is  correct  that  the  art  of  writing  in  some 
form,  was  unknown,  when  the  Iliad  was  composed,  it  fol- 
lows, as  has  been  observed,  that  the  only  medium  for 
the  preservation  of  poetry  and  history  was  the  human 


memory.  Then  how  was  it  possible  to  retain  in  the 
memory  the  elaborate  system  of  theology,  the  volumi- 
nous and  ingenious  Hellenic  theogony,  which  has  been 
preserved  to  posterity  and  which  the  author  of  the 
Iliad  had  mastered.  How  could  the  complicated,  ex- 
tensive and  harmonious  account  of  the  innumerable 
deities,  the  demigods  and  nymphs  and  satyrs  contained 
in  the  Hellenic  pantheism,  have  survived  the  centuries 
of  remote  antiquity  in  the  absence  of  some  process  by 
which  it  could  have  been  preserved  without  the  aid  of 
memory  alone? 

The  argument  of  those  who  claim  that  writing  was 
not  discovered  in  Homer's  day,  and  that  the  human 
mind  had  not  then  conceived  a  scheme  or  device,  by 
which  thoughts  could  be  transferred  to  some  physical 
substance,  from  which  they  could  be  read  or  reproduced 
at  pleasure,  is  not  strengthened  by  the  theory  that  the 
poems  were  carried  piecemeal  in  many  memories.  The 
advocates  who  deny  the  unity  of  Homer  assume  that 
there  were  professional  bards  or  rhapsodists  in  those 
days,  who  respectively  recited  parts  of  the  poems.  This 
assumption,  however,  can  rest  upon  no  other  theory 
than  that  some  person  had  memorized  the  entire  Iliad, 
and  the  Odyssey  also,  if  you  please,  and  doled  it  out  in 
parts  to  traveling  minstrels.  As  it  is  asserted  that  no 
one  mind  was  capable  of  retaining  so  much,  there  could 
have  been  no  general  source  to  whom  the  rhapsodist 
could  apply  for  part  of  the  poem.  The  only  other 
possible  theory  is  the  supposition  which  the  advocates 
who  deny  unity  have  advanced,  namely,  independent 
authorship.  In  other  words,  they  assert  one  mind  did 
not  conceive  the  poems.  They  were  conceived  by  many 
minds.  The  assumption  does  violence  to  the  beauty  and 
harmony  which  prevails  throughout  the  poems. 

If  we  adopt  the  theory  of  divided  authorship  we  must 
assume  that  in  that  remote  age  many  literary  men  lived, 
and  that  they  were  all  endowed  with  the  highest  possible 


(■ 


: 


1 
I 


MIUTAIIT    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


intellectual    attainments.      A    bare    statement    of    the 
proposition  carries  with  it  its  own  refutation. 

Concededlj  the  work  of  Homer  is  the  work  of  a  com- 
manding genius.  The  Iliad  embraces,  it  is  said,  twenty- 
seven  rhapsodies,  just  as  Byron's  Don  Juan  embraces 
fifteen  cantos,  and  his  Childe  Harold  fourteen.  These 
twenty-seven  rhapsodies  were  collected  and  arranged, 
and  fill  out  the  Iliad,  as  we  have  it.  To  say  that  these 
rhapsodies  are  the  work  of  as  many  different  minds,  is 
to  assert  that  in  the  dawn  of  antiquity,  there  were  many 
poets,  and  that  every  poet  was  a  commanding  genius, 
and  that  each  was  equally  intellectually  endowed.  The 
achievements  accomplished  in  the  world  of  letters  teaches 
us  that  such  a  proposition  is  not  tenable.  Genius  such 
as  inspired  the  author  of  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey, 
was  conferred  upon  but  few  mortals.  Nothing  in  pro- 
fane literature  surpasses  the  great  epic  written  not  less 
than  eight  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era.  No 
mind  in  all  the  intervening  centuries  has  produced  any- 
thing quite  like  the  Greek  poems.  Homer  stands  alone, 
conspicuous  in  the  ocean  of  time  that  links  the  pre- 
historic past  with  the  present. 

He  had  no  model.  He  had  no  imitators.  The  only 
poetry  of  equal  beauty  and  sublimity  of  which  we  have 
any  knowledge  is  of  an  entirely  different  character.  It 
embraces  the  sacred  poetry  of  David  and  that  of  the 
author  of  the  book  of  Job  and  of  some  other  poetical 
books  of  the  Old  Testament.  Of  these,  assuming  that 
they  were  written  before  Homer's  time,  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  Greek  poet  had  no  knowledge.  There  is  no 
archaic  literature  known  to  us,  to  which  Homer  seems 
to  have  had  access,  or  from  which  he  derived  his  inspira- 
tion, or  which  afforded  suggestions  which  he  could 
elaborate  in  his  works. 

To  argue  that  twenty-seven  such  geniuses,  as  Homer 
admittedly  was,  existed  contemporaneously,  or  even  in 
the  Homeric  age,  or  within  any  reasonable  propinquity, 


DR.    BENTLEY'S   THEOEY 


43 


seems  contrary  to  all  human  experience.  The  world, 
it  is  true,  has  produced  many  great  men  of  command- 
ing genius,  many  great  poets,  orators  and  philosophers, 
wonderfully  endowed,  but  all  have  their  distinguishing 
characteristics,  and  no  two  are  alike,  although  there 
are  resemblances  among  them.  To  assert  with  positive 
deliberation  that  there  were  many  Homers  because  the 
Iliad  may  be  divided  into  parts,  just  as  any  poem  may 
be  divisible  into  parts,  just  as  a  book,  for  convenience, 
is  divided  into  chapters,  would,  upon  the  same  assump- 
tion, furnish  the  basis  for  an  argument  that  there  were 
twenty-seven  Shakespeares  because  there  were  twenty- 
seven  of  his  immortal  plays,  or  as  many  Miltons  as 
there  are  books  in  Paradise  Lost.  The  idea  is  too  re- 
mote from  probability  to  be  seriously  entertained. 

The  subjects  embraced  in  the  Homeric  poems  relate 
to  the  Trojan  War  and  the  wanderings  of  UlyTsses. 
Professor  Wolf  boldly  declares,  in  substance,  that  these 
themes  formed  the  subject  of  numerous  epic  ballads. 
He  argues  that  the  various  productions  on  the  same 
subject  happened  to  fit  into  one  another  or  to  harmon- 
ize in  such  a  way  that  it  was  a  comparatively  easy  mat- 
ter for  the  scholars  assembled  by  Pisistratus  to  join 
them  into  the  two  great  masterpieces  known  as  the 
Iliad  and  the  Odyssey.  The  idea  had  already  been  ad- 
vanced by  Dr.  Bentley  that  Homer  wrote  a  sequence  of 
songs  and  rhapsodies  to  be  sung  by  himself  at  festivals 
and  public  gatherings,  and  that  he  composed  the  Iliad 
for  men  and  the  Odyssey  for  women,  and  that  these 
songs  and  ballads  were  collected  and  published  500 
years  after  his  death.  It  is  clear  that  Dr.  Bentley  be- 
lieved in  the  unity  of  Homer. 

Professor  Wolf,  however,  thinks  that  Bentley  was 
incorrect  in  ascribing  the  authorship  of  the  poems  to 
Homer,  and  declares  the  authors  were  numerous.  His 
argument  assumes  too  much.  The  idea  that  many  great 
poets  may  have  written  upon  the  same  subject  is  pos- 


44 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


sible.  But  to  assert  that  all  who  wrote  were  great 
poets,  and  that  there  was  such  uniformity  and  similarity 
in  the  thought  and  expression  which  pervaded  all  these 
various  productions  that,  when  pieced  together,  they 
formed  a  harmonious  whole  of  unsurpassed  beauty  and 
excellence,  presents  a  coincidence  so  remarkable  as  to  be 
wholly  unworthy  of  credit.  Homer  sings  of  the  wrath 
of  Achilles.  The  struggle  in  the  civil  war  which  in- 
volved the  supremacy  of  the  American  union  involved 
the  most  stupendous  struggle  of  modern  times.  That 
great  contest  also  formed  the  subject  of  ballads  and 
poems  innumerable.  Could  any  number  of  these  be  col- 
lected and  woven  into  a  great  poem  entitled,  "  The 
Wrath  of  the  Southrons?"  Could  all  the  lays  and 
ballads  and  hymns  composed  concerning  the  "  Thirty 
Years'  War  "  be  collected  so  as  to  form  an  epic,  entitled 
"  The  Wrath  of  the  Dissenters,"  or  "  The  Jealousy  of 
the  Papacy,"  or  "  The  Wrath  of  Wallenstein?  " 

Nevertheless,  enthusiastic  supporters  of  the  fallacy 
of  professor  Wolf  have  attempted  to  disintegrate  the 
Iliad,  in  an  attempt  to  discover  the  various  independent 
poems  of  which  they  claim  it  is  composed,  thus  subject- 
ing the  synthetical  labors  of  the  scholars  convened  by 
Pisistratus  to  an  analytical  process  which  fails  abso- 
lutely to  support  their  contention. 

The  weight  of  probability  sustains  the  assumption 
that  the  scholars  of  Pisistratus  eliminated  to  a  great 
extent,  from  the  Homeric  poems  whatever  interpola- 
tions or  spurious  matter  had  been  introduced  from 
time  to  time,  and  restored  the  poems  to  their  original 
form,  and  preserved  them  to  posterity  in  their  original 
harmony  and  beauty. 


CHAPTER    IV 

HOMERIC    AND    BIBLICAL    LITERATURE  —  WAS    THE 

HELLENIC  BARD   IGNORANT  OF  THE  SUBLIME 

POETRY    OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT? 

HERE  is  one  phase  of  the  Homeric  question 
which,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover, 
has  not  been  discussed.  The  question  which 
presents  itself  to  the  student  who  seeks  to 
ascertain  the  genesis  of  letters  and  the  au- 
thorship of  the  literature  which  first  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  mankind  is,  was  Ktomer,  the  greatest  literary 
figure  of  antiquity,  ignorant  of  the  sublime  poetry  con- 
tained in  the  sacred  literature  of  the  Israelites,  which 
was  composed  centuries  before  he  wrote  his  wonderful 
poems?  A  negative  answer  to  this  inquiry  seems  to  be 
the  only  response  warranted  by  the  evidence. 

Among  the  countless  millions  of  people  who  inhabited 
the  globe  in  the  early  period  of  its  history,  there  were 
but  two  races,  and  only  two,  from  whom  sprung 
men  of  sufficiently  exalted  intellect,  who  were  able  to 
produce  a  literature  destined  to  survive  forever.  These 
were  the  Israelites  and  the  Hellenese  or  Greeks.  It 
seems  to  be  universally  conceded  that  this  Hebraic 
and  Grecian  literature  is  the  best  of  its  kind  in  the 
world  of  letters.  It  is  also  the  oldest,  so  old  in  fact 
that  although  we  may  be  reasonably  certain  of  the  age, 
we  cannot  with  precision  hx  the  exact  century  when  it 
was  written.  When  the  book  of  Job  was  composed  no 
one  can  tell.  When  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  or  the 
Pentateuch  were  written  no  one  can  tell.  When  the 
Iliad  or  the  Odyssey  were  written  no  one  can  tell.    The 

45 


i 


46 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


poetical  books  of  ancient  scripture,  for  grandeur,  elo- 
quence and  sublimity  stand  unrivalled,  and  the  poems 
depicting  the  wrath  of  Achilles  and  the  wanderings  of 
Ulysses,  for  rich  imagery,  wealth  of  simile  and  poetic 
beauty,  have  never  been  excelled. 

Yet  it  seems  clear,  as  will  be  shown  presently,  that  the 
Greek  author,  for  we  do  not  subscribe  to  the  doctrine 
of  many  Homers,  remained  all  his  life  in  ignorance  of 
the  existence  of  the  literature  of  the  early  books  of  the 
Old  Testament.  He  seems  never  to  have  heard  of  Moses, 
of  David  or  of  Solomon,  though  the  latter  died  more 
than  a  century  before  Homer  was  bom.  If  Moses 
wrote  the  Pentateuch  (except  the  last  chapter  of  Deu- 
teronomy, giving  an  account  of  his  death),  that  won- 
derful compilation  of  the  history  of  the  Israelites,  which 
begins  with  a  poetic  account  of  the  creation,  had  been 
already  in  existence  at  least  six  centuries  before 
Homer's  time,  assuming  that  his  birth  occurred  about 
the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  B.  C.  The  most  eminent 
biblical  scholars  fix  the  time  of  the  death  of  Moses  in 
the  year  1451  B.  C. 

Why  is  it  that  a  great  intellect  like  that  possessed 
by  Homer,  never  knew  of  the  existence  or  became 
familiar  with  the  only  literature  in  the  world,  which  for 
beauty  and  excellence  could  alone  compare  with  his  own 
marvelous  compositions?  In  seeking  an  answer  to  this 
inquiry  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  Greeks  and  the  Israel- 
ites never  came  in  contact.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
many  Greeks,  not  only  men  of  letters,  but  merchants 
and  mariners,  traveled  in  Palestine,  and  were  familiar, 
in  a  measure  at  least,  with  their  laws  and  cus- 
toms. . 

Lycurgus,  the  lawgiver  of  Sparta,  was  said  to  have 
been  contemporaneous  with  Homer.  Indeed  some  wri- 
ters claim  that  he  was  acquainted  with  the  blind  poet. 
It  is  recorded  of  Lycurgus,  who  was  of  royal  lineage, 
that  he  traveled  all  over  the  known  world,  and  spent 


SOLOMON,    AND    HIRAM    KING    OF    TYRE 


47 


ten  years  in  investigating  the  laws  and  customs  of  the 
various  civilized  people  of  that  age,  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  gaining  sufficient  information  and  knowledge 
to  enable  him  to  prepare  a  proper  code  of  laws  for 
Sparta.  He  is  said  to  have  visited  Crete,  Ionia,  Egypt, 
Iberia,  Libya  and  India.  Can  there  be  any  doubt  but 
that  he  visited  Babylonia  and  Syria,  which  embraces 
Phoenicia  and  Palestine.  Greeks  from  Asia  Minor, 
Herodotus  tells  us  (i,  163),  discovered  the  Adriatic, 
and  Iberia  (Spain),  and  Tartessus.  This  latter  city  is 
known  also  as  Tarshish  on  the  river  Boetis  (now  the 
Guadalquivir)  near  the  site  of  the  modern  Cadiz.  Tar- 
shish, it  is  believed,  was  settled  by  Phoenicians.  If  this 
view  is  correct,  it  was  a  trading-port  visited  regularly 
by  the  ships  of  Solomon  more  than  a  century  before 
Homer  was  born.  Solomon  made  a  treaty  with  Hiram, 
King  of  Tyre,  one  of  the  principal  cities  of  Phoenicia, 
whereby  he  obtained  from  the  latter  cedar  trees  and  fir 
trees,  and  gold  and  silver.  Hiram  also  built  the  lavers, 
the  shovels  and  the  basins  for  Solomon's  temple. 
Josephus  says  that  Solomon  also  married  one  of  the 
daughters  of  Hiram.  He  built  also  a  navy  which  was 
manned  by  Phoenician  sailors  furnished  by  Hiram 
(1  Kings,  ix,  27).  The  navy  of  Hiram  and  the  navy 
of  Solomon  were  accustomed  to  visit  Tarshish  once  in 
three  years.  Tarshish  was  discovered  long  before  the 
time  of  Solomon.  It  may  have  been  settled  by  the  sons 
of  Gomer  shortly  after  the  flood.  Among  the  latter, 
mentioned  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  are  Elishah 
and  Tarshish,  Kittim  (who  doubtless  dwelt  in  Citium 
in  the  island  of  Cyprus)  and  Dodanim.  David,  in  the 
forty-eighth  Psalm,  in  describing  the  power  of  the 
Almighty  declares  "  thou  breakest  the  ships  of  Tar- 
shish with  an  east  wind."  David  also  was  on  very 
friendly  terms  with  Hiram  (2  Sam.  v,  11). 

These  referenceiS  are  given  to  show  the  close  relations 
which  existed  between  the  Israelites  or  the  Jews,  and 


48 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    OREECE 


the  Phoenicians  or  Canaanites,  more  than  a  century  be- 
fore the  time  of  Homer.  The  commercial  dealings  of 
the  Phoenicians,  Greeks  and  Israelites  will  be  fully  dis- 
cussed presently.  The  richest  stores  of  Hebrew  litera- 
ture were  in  existence  when  Rehoboam  became  King  of 
Israel  B.  C.  975,  after  his  father  Solomon  had  reigned 
forty  years.  The  latter  contributed  largely  to  the 
sacred  writings  of  the  Jews.  He  was  the  author  of  the 
book  of  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes  and  the  Song  of  Solo- 
mon. These  writings  had  become  part  of  the  sacred 
Hebrew  literature  at  least  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years  (B.  C.  975,  given  as  the  time  when  Solomon  died) 
before  Homer  flourished. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Tartessus  of  Herodo- 
tus was  the  Tarshish  of  Ezekiel ;  that  it  was  in  the  At- 
lantic beyond  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  in  Iberia,  now 
Spain,  on  the  Boetis,  now  the  Guadalquivir.    The  Greek 
historian,  speaking  of  Tartessus,  says   (i,  163),  that 
"  the  Phocasans  were  the  first  of  the  Greeks  who  per- 
formed long  voyages,  and  it  was  they  who  made  the 
Greeks  acquainted  with  the  Adriatic,  and  with  Tyr- 
rhenia,  with  Iberia,  and  the  city  of  Tartessus."     In 
speaking  of  the  expedition  of  Aryandes  against  Libya, 
shortly  after  the  Scythian  expedition  of  Darius,  He- 
rodotus says  (iv,  152)  that  a  Samian  vessel,  on  its  way 
*o  Egypt,  was  carried  out  of  its  course  by  a  terrific 
gale  from  the  east  and  was  driven  past  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules,  "  and  at  last  by  some  special  guiding  provi- 
dence reached  Tartessus."     It  seems  equally  clear  that 
this  Tartessus  was  the  Tarshish  of  Ezekiel,  who  was 
contemporaneous  with  Solon,  because  the  products  of 
the  country  mentioned  by  the  prophet  answer  the  de- 
scription of  the  products  of  Spain.    In  his  lament  over 
Tyre,  written  early  in  the  sixth  century  (B.  C.  688), 
the  prophet  refers  to  the  wealth  and  commercial  im- 
portance of  the  greatest  city  in  Phoenicia.     He  says 
(xxvii,  12),  "  Tarshish  was  thy  merchant  by  reason  of 


NAVIES    OP    HIRAM   AND    SOLOMON 


49 


the  multitude  of  all  kind  of  riches;  with  silver,  iron, 
tin  and  lead,  they  traded  in  thy  fairs." 

The  Tarshish  referred  to  in  the  book  of  Kings,  in 
connection  with  the  navy  of  Hiram,  in  the  reign  of  King 
Solomon,  does  not  correspond  with  the  Tarshish  re- 
ferred to  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  if  we  are  to  judge  by 
the  nature  of  the  cargo  brought  to  Tyre  and  Jerusalem 
by  these  Israelites  and  Phoenician  merchantmen.  With 
regard  to  the  ships  of  Solomon  the  record  declares  (1 
Kings,  X,  22),  "For  the  king  had  at  sea  a  navy  of 
Tarshish,  with  the  navy  of  Hiram ;  once  in  three  years 
came  the  navy  of  Tarshish  bringing  gold,  and  silver, 
ivory,  and  apes,  and  peacocks."  The  record  further 
declares  that  gold  for  the  temple  of  Solomon  was 
brought  by  the  Phoenician  ships  of  Hiram  from  Ophir. 
The  ships  brought  also  precious  stones  and  Almug 
trees,  from  which  exude  medicinal  gums,  very  precious 
and  very  fragrant.  The  queen  of  Sheba  in  Ethiopia 
(now  Abyssinia)  contributed  to  Solomon,  for  the  deco- 
ration of  his  costly  and  magnificent  temple,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  talents  of  gold,  and  vast  stores  of  spices 
and  precious  stones. 

It  seems  very  clear,  from  what  is  said  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  cargo  brought  by  these  merchantmen,  by 
the  navy  of  Tarshish,  namely,  gold,  ivory,  apes  and  pea- 
cocks, that  they  brought  these  things  not  from  Spain, 
but  from  Arabian,  Indian  and  African  ports.  The 
navy  of  Tarshish,  from  the  language  used,  seems  to 
indicate  in  this  connection  the  character  of  the  ships  in 
the  navy,  not  necessarily  the  particular  port  which  the 
ships  visited.  In  other  words  the  navy  was  said  to  con- 
sist of  Tarshish  ships,  that  is,  ships  built  especially  for 
long  voyages.  The  ships,  in  which  Phoenicians  traded 
with  the  distant  port  of  Tarshish  in  Spain,  were  neces- 
sarily constructed,  as  to  size,  strength  and  durability, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  able  to  make  a  voyage  of  ^ve 
thousand  miles,  being  about  the  distance  from  Tyre  to 


so 


MIUTAEY  ANNALS   OP    GEEECE 


Tarshish,  including  the  return  trip.  Hence  Tarshish 
ships,  as  the  words  are  used  in  the  first  book  of  Kings 
(x,  22),  mean  ships  constructed  after  the  strongest  and 
most  durable  model,  fit  to  make  a  voyage  to  Tarshish. 
The  passage  might,  therefore,  be  rendered,  "  For  the 
king  (Solomon)  had  at  sea,  a  navy  of  Tarshish  ships, 
with  the  navy  of  Hiram." 

But  the  record  discloses  the  further  fact  that  while 
these  Tarshish  ships  brought  gold  from  Ophir,  gums 
and  spices  from  Arabia,  and  peacocks  from  India,  they 
went  also  to  Tarshish.  The  journey  to  that  distant 
port,  it  will  be  observed,  consumed  three  years.  In  the 
second  book  of  Chronicles,  is  this  declaration : 

"  For  the  king's  ships  went  to  Tarshish  with  the 
servants  of  Huram;  every  three  years  once  came  the 
ships  of  Tarshish,  bringing  gold,  and  silver,  ivory  and 
apes  and  peacocks."     (2  Chron.  ix,  21.) 

This  appears  also  from  what  is  said  concerning 
Jehoshaphat,  King  of  Judah,  who  reigned  about  B.  C. 
896,  and  his  dealings  with  Ahaziah,  King  of  Israel. 
"And  he  (Jehoshaphat)  joined  himself  with  him 
(Ahaziah)  to  make  ships  to  go  to  Tarshish,  and  they 
made  the  ships  at  Ezion-gaber."  (2  Chron.  xx,  36.) 
The  record  shows  also  that  "  Jehoshaphat  made  ships 
of  Tarshish  to  go  to  Ophir  for  gold,  but  they  went  not, 
for  the  ships  were  broken  (lost  in  a  storm)  at  Ezion- 
geber."  (1  Kings,  xxii,  48.)  The  Mediterranean,  also, 
through  which  the  ships  sailed  on  their  voyages  to  and 
from  Tarshish,  was  called  the  sea  of  Tarshish. 

From  these  accounts  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  it  is 
clear  that  the  rendezvous  of  the  ships  and  navies  of  the 
Israelites  was  not  anywhere  on  the  east  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean.  Jerusalem,  the  capital  of  David  and 
Solomon,  was  nearly  forty  miles  inland,  in  the  valley 
of  Cedron,  in  Judea,  or  the  ancient  Kingdom  of  Judah, 
the  land  of  Canaan.  Its  nearest  neighbors  on  the  south 
were  Edomites  and  Moabites.     Its  nearest  seaport  to 


THE    LAND    OF    OPHIR 


SI 


» 


the  south  was  Ezion-geber,  in  the  land  of  Edom,  on  the 
most  northern  extremity  of  the  gulf  of  Akaba,  an  arm 
of  the  Red  Sea,  extending  north,  and  forming  the  east- 
em  boundary  of  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  the  western 
boundary  being  the  gulf  of  Suez,  also  an  arm  of  the 
Red  Sea.  Between  these  two  gulfs  or  horns  of  the  Red 
Sea  is  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  and  the  wilderness  of 
Paran,  through  which  the  children  of  Israel  wandered, 
after  their  escape  from  Egypt  under  the  intrepid 
leadership  of  Moses.  The  distance  from  Jerusalem  to 
Ezion-geber  was  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  al- 
most due  south. 

From  these  accounts  we  must  assume  that  merchant- 
men in  Solomon's  time  and  in  Jehoshaphat's  time 
brought  cargoes  from  all  parts  of  the  then  known 
world.  They  brought  merchandise  from  ports  in 
Arabia,  and  from  ports  in  Malabar,  along  the  west 
coast  of  India.  They  brought  gold  from  Ophir. 
Where  was  Ophir.?  Some  scholars  locate  it  in  Arabia, 
near  the  present  Aden,  on  the  Straits  of  Bab-el-Man- 
deb,  on  the  Red  Sea,  others  assert  that  the  Ophir  of 
Solomon's  time  was  on  the  east  coast  of  Africa,  on  what 
is  now  known  as  Mozambique  channel,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  modem  district  of  Sofala.  Some  contend 
that  this  land  of  Ophir,  though  remote  from  what  we 
now  designate  Abyssinia,  may  have  formed  part  of  the 
dominions  of  the  queen  of  Sheba.  However  this  may 
be,  it  is  highly  probable  that  these  ships  of  Tarshish 
not  only  sailed  as  far  south  as  Mozambique  channel, 
from  which  they  brought  ivory  and  gold,  but  that  they 
sailed  the  entire  length  of  the  African  continent,  the 
ancient  Libya,  doubled  its  southern  cape,  now  known 
as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  sailed  north  in  the  Atlantic, 
along  its  west  coast,  to  Tarshish  in  Spain,  and  thence 
east  to  Tyre,  or  Ezion-geber,  a  voyage  which  consumed 
a  period  of  three  years.  This  view  is  supported  by 
certain   statements   by   Herodotus,   to   which  we  shall 


52 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


refer  presently,  corresponding,  as  to  time  and  distance, 
with  the  biblical  account. 

The  objection  to  this  theory,  that  the  ancients 
doubled  the  cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  reached  Tarshish, 
sailing  north  along  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  is  obvious. 
How  could  the  navy  of  Hiram  and  the  navy  of  Solomon 
and  of  Jehoshaphat  possibly  have  sailed  from  Ezion- 
geber  at  the  extremity  of  the  gulf  of  Akaba,  an  arm  of 
the  Red  Sea,  to  Tarshish  in  Spain.  Their  vessels  might 
sail  southeast  through  the  Red  Sea  through  what  are 
now  known  as  the  straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb  into  the 
Gulf  of  Aden,  and  thence  into  the  sea  of  Erythraeum, 
now  known  as  the  Indian  Ocean,  to  Malabar,  on  the  west 
coast  of  India,  and  along  the  cast  coast  of  Africa  to 
Ophir.  But  they  ask  how  could  these  ships  sail  into 
the  Mediterranean,  or  into  the  Atlantic. 

The  objection  rests  upon  the  assumption,  first,  that 
all  land  south  of  Ethiopia  was  a  terra  incognita;  that 
the  Phoenicians  in  the  time  of  David  and  Solomon  never 
ventured  far  south,  and  consequently  knew  nothing  of 
the  Cape  at  the  extremity  of  the  continent,  now  known 
as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  and  second,  that  there  was 
no  canal  extending  across  the  isthmus  of  Suez  from  the 
Gulf  of  Suez  to  the  eastern  waters  of  the  Nile  Delta, 
and  thence  through  the  Nile,  to  a  port  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean, as  there  is  to-day.  In  the  light  of  modem  in- 
vestigation, it  seems  that  both  of  these  assumptions  are 
erroneous.  There  is  abundant  evidence  of  the  fact  that 
there  was  a  canal  across  the  isthmus  of  Suez,  nearly 
three  centuries  before  the  time  of  David.  Archaeologists 
assert  positively  that  this  canal  was  constructed  by  the 
Kings  of  Egypt,  Seti  I  and  Rameses  II,  about  B.  C. 
1350-1300,  extending  from  the  Pelusiac  branch  of  the 
Nile  Delta  to  lake  Timsah,  and  thence  to  the  gulf  of 
Suez  or  the  Red  Sea.  The  mouth  of  this  most  easterly 
tributary  of  the  Nile  is  not  far  from  the  site  of  the 
present  Port   Said,  on   the  Mediterranean.     If  these 


CIECUMNAVIGATION    OF   AFEICA 


53 


archaeologists  and  engineers  are  correct,  and  tl^ey  claim 
there  is  abundant  evidence  disclosed  by  modem  French 
surveys  to  sustain  their  contention,  then  the  ships  of 
Solomon  and  Jehoshaphat  could  have  sailed  directly 
from  Ezion-geber  through  the  Red  Sea  and  the  ancient 
Suez  canal,  into  the  Mediterranean,  and  thence  west 
through  the  gates  of  Hercules  into  the  Atlantic,  to 
Tarshish,  on  the  southern  coast  of  Spain,  and  thence 
back  again  through  the  Mediterranean.  They  could 
also  have  sailed  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  assum- 
ing that  the  statements  of  Herodotus  in  that  regard  are 
correct,  and  north  past  the  gates  of  Hercules,  or  straits 
of  Gibraltar,  to  Tarshish,  in  the  south  of  Spain,  and 
thence  east  through  these  straits,  through  the  Medi- 
terranean, directly  to  Tyre,  or  down  the  eastern  branch 
of  the  Nile  Delta  through  the  canal  across  the  isthmus 
of  Suez,  constructed  by  Seti  I  and  Rameses  II,  into 
the  Red  Sea  and  thence  through  the  Gulf  of  Akaba  to 
Ezion-geber  in  the  land  of  Edom.  According  to  the 
biblical  record,  and  the  account  of  Herodotus,  the  jour- 
ney either  way  would  consume  a  period  of  three 
years. 

With  regard  to  the  circumnavigation  of  the  African 
continent,  the  ancient  Libya  in  remote  antiquity, 
Herodotus  observes  (iv,  42),  that  it  was  well  known 
in  his  day  that  Libya  was  washed  on  all  sides  by  the 
sea,  except  so  much  of  it  as  borders  on  or  is  connected 
with  Asia.  This  was  proved  by  Neco,  King  of  Egypt, 
who,  when  he  had  ceased  digging  the  canal  leading  from 
the  Nile  to  the  Arabian  Gulf,  sent  "  a  number  of  ships 
manned  by  Phoenicians  with  orders  to  make  for  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules,  and  return  to  Egypt,  through 
them,  and  by  the  Mediterranean.  The  Phoenicians 
took  their  departure  from  Egypt,  by  way  of  the  Eryth- 
raean Sea  (the  straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb  and  the  Indian 
Ocean)  and  so  sailed  into  the  southern  ocean.  .  .  . 
Two  whole  years  went  by,  and  it  was  not  until  the 


54 


MILITARY   ANNALS   OF   GREECE 


third  year  that  they  doubled  the  Pillars  of  Hercules, 
and  made  good  their  voyage  home." 

The  Carthaginians  mentioned  by  Herodotus  were  not 
the  only  navigators  who  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  at  a  very  early  period.  Pliny  declares  that 
Hanno,  a  Carthaginian,  long  before  the  time  of  Neco, 
went  round  it,  sailing  through  the  Pillars  of  Hercules, 
touching  on  the  southern  coast  of  Spain  (doubtless  at 
Tarshish),  navigated  along  the  west  coast  of  Africa 
around  the  Cape,  and  returned  through  the  Arabian 
Gulf  (Red  Sea). 

Referring  to  the  ancient  canal  across  the  isthmus  of 
Suez,  Herodotus  (ii,  158)  observes  that  Neco,  King  of 
Egypt,  was  the  first  to  attempt  the  construction  of  the 
canal  to  the  Red  Sea.  The  Neco  here  referred  to,  was 
the  son  of  Psammetichus,  who  reigned  about  two  cen- 
turies before  the  time  of  Herodotus.  Modern  scholars 
declare,  upon  undoubted  testimony,  that  the  canal  was 
originally  constructed  by  Seti  I  and  his  grandson, 
Rameses  II,  the  greatest  of  the  Pharaohs,  who  reigned 
a  century  after  the  death  of  Moses,  whose  achievements 
are  engraved  in  the  temples  of  Kamak  and  Luxor.  The 
work  of  Neco,  it  is  believed,  was  directed  to  cleaning 
out  and  repairing  the  ancient  canal  of  Rameses,  which 
had  become  partly  choked  up  and  obstructed  by  the 
drifting  sands  during  the  intervening  centuries. 
Herodotus  says  that  this  work  begun  by  Neco  was 
afterward  completed  by  Darius  Hystaspes,  father  of 
Xerxes.  The  latter,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  de- 
feated by  Themistocles  in  the  straits  of  Salamis.  He 
says  the  length  of  the  canal  was  "  four  days'  journey, 
and  the  width  such  as  to  admit  of  two  triremes  being 
rowed  along  it  abreast.  The  water  in  the  canal  was 
supplied  from  the  Nile,  the  eastern  tributary  of  which 
the  canal  leaves  a  little  above  the  city  of  Bubastis,  near 
Patumus,  the  Arabian  town,  being  continued  thence 
until  it  joins  the  Red  Sea.    At  first  it  is  carried  along 


ANClENf   SUEZ   CANAL 


5S 


the  Arabian  side  of  the  Egyptian  plain,  as  far  as  the 
chain  of  hills  opposite  Memphis,  whereby  the  plain  is 
bounded,  and  in  which  lie  the  great  stone  quarries. 
Here  it  skirts  the  base  of  the  hills,  running  in  a  direc- 
tion from  west  to  east ;  after  which  it  turns  and  enters 
a  narrow  pass,  trending  southward  from  this  point  until 
it  enters  the  Arabian  Gulf.  From  the  northern  sea 
(Mediterranean)  to  that  which  is  called  the  Southern 
or  Erythraean,  the  shortest  and  quickest  passage,  which 
is  from  Mount  Casius,  the  boundary  between  Egypt 
and  Syria  to  the  Gulf  of  Arabia  is  a  distance  of  exactly 
one  thousand  furlongs."  ^  The  work,  as  conducted, 
occasioned  appalling  mortality,  which  indicates  the 
cruelty  of  the  Egyptian  taskmasters  of  that  age. 
Herodotus  declares  that  of  the  laborers  who  did  the 
excavating  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  perished 
during  the  period  occupied  in  the  work. 

This  convincing  testimony  justifies  the  conclusion, 
that  the  countries  of  the  ancient  world,  bordering  on 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  Euxine,  on  the  Red  Sea 
and  the  Indian  Ocean,  as  well  as  on  the  Atlantic,  where 
it  washes  the  shoulders  of  the  continents  of  Europe  and 
Africa,  known  by  the  archaic  designations,  Mauretania 
and  Lusitania,  and  their  contiguous  territory,  were  not 
locked  countries.  These  seas  and  oceans  were  open  seas. 
The  people  of  antiquity  were  merchants  and  traders, 
navigators  and  explorers,  and  carried  on  their  com- 
merce and  established  their  colonies  on  the  remote 
frontiers  of  the  then  known  world. 

These  authorities  are  sufficient  to  establish  the  propo- 
sition that  the  people  of  Hellas,  of  Egypt  and  of  Syria, 
which  embraces  both  Phoenicia  and  Palestine,  came  in 
contact  with  each  other  as  merchants  and  traders.  It 
is  evident  that  in  the  time  of  Homer,  Lycurgus  visited 


^  1,000  stades  is  about  114  English  miles,  at  600  Greek  feet  to 
the  stadium. 


56 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF   GREECE 


all  these  countries  in  pursuit  of  knowledge.  What  was 
open  to  Lycurgus  was  open  to  Homer.  We  will  show 
presently  that  four  centuries  later,  this  intercourse 
among  the  nations  of  antiquity  continued.  Practically 
all  the  countries  of  the  then  known  world  were  visited 
by  Herodotus,  who  has  given  us  vivid  descriptions  of 
what  he  saw  and  heard  in  his  day  and  generation. 

We  now  proceed  to  a  discussion  of  the  second  branch, 
namely,  the  literature  of  the  ancient  world,  as  it  existed 
in  Homer's  day.  First,  let  us  consider  their  alphabet, 
and  means  of  communication  among  these  early  people. 

The  Phoenicians,  as  has  been  observed,  were  among 
the  most  conspicuous  merchants  and  mariners  of 
antiquity.  They  sustained  very  close  relations  with 
the  Israelites,  and  established  treaty  relations  with 
David  and  Solomon.  Beyond  question  these  treaties 
were  in  writing.  The  Greek  alphabet,  the  same 
which  doubtless  Homer  used  in  composing  his  great 
productions,  was  of  Phoenician  origin.  The  earliest 
forms  of  the  letters  of  this  alphabet  (  a\(l>a,  fi-qra  ) 
bear  a  very  close  resemblance  to  those  used  in  the  com- 
mercial code  of  Phoenicia.  Philologists  declare  that 
Greek  names,  in  numerous  instances,  are  derived  from 
the  Semitic.  They  point  out  also  the  interesting  fact 
that  the  various  alphabets  in  use  in  the  time  of  Homer, 
and  long  prior  thereto,  namely  the  Hebrew,  Phoenician, 
Aramaic,  and  their  branches  are  all  of  common  origin. 
This  important  statement  is  sustained  and  corroborated 
by  a  recent  discovery.  In  1868  at  Diban,  in  the  land 
of  Moab,  a  stone  was  found,  containing  an  inscription 
of  thirty-four  lines,  known  as  the  Moabite  stone,  the 
fragments  of  which  have  been  carefully  fitted  together, 
and  are  preserved  in  the  Louvre.  The  inscription  is 
written  in  Moabite  characters  and  has  been  deciphered 
by  modem  scholars.  These  learned  men  say  that  the 
characters  used  are  identical  with  those  on  Phoenician 
monuments.    It  is  claimed  further  that  the  language  in 


THE   MOABITE    STONE 


57 


which  the  inscription  is  written,  is  so  closely  allied  to 
the  Hebrew  that  the  conclusion  is  justified  "  which 
makes  Hebrew  and  Moabitish  practically  identical." 
The  inscription  relates  to  the  achievements  of  the  King 
of  Moab,  presumably  Mesha,  who  was  a  contemporary 
of  King  Ahab,  whose  reign  is  referred  to  in  the  Second 
Book  of  Kings  (iii,  4),  who  flourished  about  B.  C.  895. 
After  the  death  of  Ahab,  Mesha  rebelled  against  the 
King  of  Israel.  The  archaeologists  assume  that  the  in- 
scription on  this  Moabite  stone  was  written  in  the 
neighborhood  of  870  or  860  B.  C,  a  period  contempo- 
raneous with  Homer,  if  those  scholars  are  correct  (and 
among  them  Herodotus)  who  assert  that  the  poet 
flourished  about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  B.  C. 

This  bit  of  evidence,  discovered  so  recently,  sustains 
the  theory  that  the  literature  of  David  and  Solomon 
must  have  been  known  to  the  neighboring  nations,  not 
only  on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  but 
probably  in  Egypt  also,  as  both  Phoenicians  and  Israel- 
ites, as  has  been  shown,  sustained  close  commercial  rela- 
tions with  that  country.  In  the  light  of  this  testimony, 
we  continue  to  wonder  why  it  was  that  the  earlier  poets 
of  Greece  had  no  knowledge  whatever,  and  were  entirely 
unfamiliar  with  the  writings  of  the  Hebrew  poets,  whose 
sacred  songs  and  religious  chants  stand  unrivalled  in 
the  world  of  letters. 

Two  early  systems  of  writing  have  recently  been  dis- 
covered also  on  the  island  of  Crete,  a  country  with 
which  Homer  was  familiar  and  to  which  he  refers  in 
writing  of  the  Dorian  race.  One  of  these  systems, 
specimens  of  which  were  found  on  vases  and  pottery, 
taken  from  ancient  tombs,  seems  to  have  been  of  Egyp- 
tian origin,  by  reason  of  the  pictures  or  hieroglyphics 
used.  The  other  system,  however,  is  based  on  a  linear 
alphabet,  and  employs  a  number  of  letters  or  signs 
resembling  the  Phoenician  and  early  Greek  characters, 
which  letters,  it  is  pointed  out,  had  been  borrowed  by 


58  MILITAEY   ANNALS   OF    GEEECE 

the  Greeks  from  the  Phoenicians,  and  which,  it  is  be- 
lieved, were  in  use  among  the  Greeks  before  Homer's 
time,  as  early  at  least  as  the  time  of  David. 

The   evidence   furnished  by   the   inscription   on   the 
Moabite  stone,  establishes  almost  conclusively  the  as- 
sertion of  Assyriologists,  that  the  early  inhabitants  of 
Palestine,  the  land  of  the  Israelites,  were  Asiatic,  not 
Egyptian,  and  that  their  earlier  culture  was  derived 
from  Babylonia.     Professor  Navillc  of  the  Institute  of 
France,  declares  that  the  ancient  books  of  the  Hebrews, 
and  particularly  the  Pentateuch,  must  to  a  great  ex- 
tent have  been  written  in  Babylonian  or  Assyrian,  and 
in  cuneiform  characters.^     He  argues  that  Moses  must 
have  written   the  Ten   Commandments   in   Babylonian 
cuneiform,  and  that  written  Hebrew  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  used  prior  to  the  time  of  Solomon.     Might 
not  this  theory  be  explained  on  the  assumption  that 
Moses  may  have  used   cuneiform   characters  to  write 
Hebrew  words?     He  is  careful  to  say,  however,  in  this 
connection,  that  the  absence  of  Hebrew  documents  does 
not  necessarily   imply  the  non-existence  of  that  lan- 
guage as  a  literary  medium.^ 

The  inquiry  at  once  presents  itself  what  is  meant  by 
the  "  Hebrew  language."  What  language  did  Abraham 
speak?  What  language  did  Lot  speak?  We  may  as- 
sume that  they  spoke  the  language  which  prevailed  in 


» Discovery  of  the  Book  of  the  Law,  under  King  Josiah,  page  40. 

»Dr.  A.  S.  Yahuda,  of  Berlin,  referring  to  the  progress  made 
in  excavations  in  Assyria,  Babylonia,  Asia  Minor  and  Egypt,  in 
1911,  speaks  of  one  hundred  clay  tablets  which  had  been  dug  up 
in  Samaria,  written  in  old  Hebrew,  the  same  as  the  inscription 
on  the  Moabite  Stone.  These  inscriptions.  Dr.  Yahuda  says, 
were  not  cut  in  clay,  but  were  written  in  deep  black  Egyptian 
ink,  which  has  preserved  to  us,  in  excellent  condition,  writings 
from  the  first  and  second  millennium  b.  c.  on  papyri,  on  wooden 
coffins  and  clay  tablets,  in  Crete  and  Egypt.  On  one  of  these 
tablets  is  said  to  have  been  found  a  letter  from  an  Assyrian  king 
to  Ahab,  King  of  Israel,  about  B.C.  900-854,  the  period  corre- 
sponding with  the  age  of  Homer. 


LANGtTAaE   OF   ITHE  ISKAEIJfES 


S0 


the  land  of  their  birth.  Abraham  was  born  in  Ur  in 
Chaldea.  Lot's  father  was  likewise  born  there  for  he 
was  Abraham's  brother.  Whatever  language  was 
spoken  in  Chaldea  and  Babylonia,  was  the  mother 
tongue  of  Abraham.  It  was  doubtless  designated  as 
the  Chaldean  or  Babylonian  language.  Dr.  Briggs, 
an  eminent  theologian  and  Hebrew  scholar,  says  that 
"  the  ancient  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  are  nearer  to 
the  Hebrew  and  Phoenician  than  they  are  to  the  other 
Semitic  families."  This  language  which  is  called  He- 
brew, Dr.  Briggs  says,  "  was  the  language  of  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  Canaan."  This  accords  fully  with 
the  Biblical  account.  The  Assyrian  or  Babylonian  lan- 
guage, which  was  used  also  in  Chaldea,  was  doubtless 
the  language  which  Abraham  spoke,  and  which  his 
nephew.  Lot,  spoke. 

In  this  connection,  it  will  be  profitable  to  note  the 
origin  of  the  word  Hebrew.  It  was  not  used  originally 
to  designate  a  particular  language,  but  was  employed 
by  the  Canaanites,  who  applied  the  term  to  Abraham. 
They  called  him  "Abram  the  Hebrew"  (Gen.  xiv,  13), 
to  distinguish  him  as  one  who  had  crossed  the  Eu- 
phrates, and  had  come  out  from  Ur,  of  the  Chaldees, 
and  journeyed  westward  into  the  land  of  Canaan. 
The  original  word,  we  are  told,  is  ^eher,  which  indi- 
cates "  beyond,  on  the  other  side."  The  tribesmen  of 
Abraham,  having  migrated  to  the  west,  went  to  Haran, 
thence  south  across  the  Euphrates  from  Mesopotamia 
to  Aram  or  Syria,  and  thence  south  into  Canaan,  were 
designated  Hebrews,  having  migrated  to  the  west,  to 
distinguish  them  from  those  who  dwelt  in  the  east. 
Did  Abraham  acquire  the  vernacular  of  the  Canaan- 
ites, which  is  usually  designated  as  Hebrew,  or  was 
that  the  form  of  speech  in  Canaan,  as  well  as  in  Chal- 
dea. On  this  point  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Briggs,  the 
eminent  Hebraic  scholar,  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
the  Hebrew  and  Chaldean  languages  were  very  sim- 


6o 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OP    GEEECE 


ilar.  He  says,  in  this  connection,  "  Whether  Abraham 
adopted  the  language  of  the  Canaanites  or  brought 
the  Hebrew  with  him  from  the  east  is  unimportant, 
for  the  ancient  Assyrian  and.  Babylonian  are  nearer 
to  the  Hebrew  and  Phoenician,  than  they  are  to  the 
other  Semitic  families."  ^ 

Lot  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Moab,  which  was  peopled  by 
his  incestuous  descendants.  Their  language  in  the  time 
of  King  Ahab  is  revealed  to  us  by  the  inscription  on 
the  Moabite  stone  above  referred  to,  which  the  archaeolo- 
gists says  is  so  closely  allied  to  the  Hebrew  as  to  make 
the  Hebrew  and  Moabitish  practically  identical.  Tyre 
and    Sidon    were    in    Canaan,    afterwards    designated 

Phoenicia. 

The  merchants  of  Tyre  long  before  the  time  of  David 
and  Solomon  were  princes,  and  her  traffickers  were  the 
honorable  of  the  earth.  But  the  prophet  Joel  de- 
nounced the  merchants  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  because  they 
trafficked  in  Hebrew  slaves  and  sold  them  to  the  Greeks. 
"  The  children  also  of  Judah  and  the  children  of  Jeru- 
salem have  ye  sold  unto  the  Grecians,  that  ye  might 
remove  them  far  from  their  border."     (Joel,  iii,  6.) 

This  testimony  illustrates  the  close  commercial  rela- 
tions which  existed  not  only  between  the  Greeks  and 
Phoenicians  or  Canaanites,  who  dwelt  in  Palestine,  in 
Syria,  immediately  on  the  borders  of  Judah,  but  which 
existed  also  between  the  Phoenicians  and  the  Israelites. 
Not  only  were  these  nations  commercial  allies,  but  Solo- 
mon married  a  Canaanite,  the  daughter  of  Hiram,  King 
of  Tyre,  and  thus  established  bonds  of  affinity  and  con- 
sanguinity between  them.  Solomon  also  married  the 
daughter  of  Pharaoh,  presumably  Sheshonk  I 
(Shishank),  who  was  the  first  Egyptian  monarch  of  the 
Twenty-second  Dynasty.     This  Pharaoh   aided   Solo- 


» General  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
p.  59. 


lilTERATUEE   OF   THE   ISEAELITES 


6l 


mon  in  his  war  with  the  Canaanites.  He  sent  an  army 
into  Palestine,  we  are  told  in  the  first  book  of  Kings, 
took  the  City  of  Gezer,  destroyed  the  Canaanites,  who 
defended  it,  and  "gave  it  for  a  present  unto  his 
daughter,  Solomon's  wife."  (1  Kings,  ix,  16.) 

These  exogamous  marriages  must  have  taken  place 
when  Solomon  was  at  the  summit  of  his  fame,  and  had 
given  to  the  world  the  book  of  Proverbs  containing 
more  profound  maxims  and  more  wisdom  than  any  book 
written  before  or  since. 

We  shall  now  consider  the  literature  of  the  Israelites 
as  it  must  have  existed  in  Solomon's  time,  and  from 
archaic  times  long  prior.  In  this  connection  also  we 
refer  to  the  poems  of  Homer,  in  order  to  show  from 
internal  evidence  contained  in  his  writings,  that  he  knew 
nothing  of  the  literature  of  the  Israelites. 

The  Phoenicians,  from  whom  the  Greeks,  as  has  been 
observed,  learned  their  letters,  were  in  a  sense  an  edu- 
cated people,  and  had  been  for  centuries.  They  taught 
the  Greeks  at  all  events  their  letters.  Their  pupils 
proved  apt,  having  created  a  literature  that  will  live 
forever. 

It  has  been  said  that  Homer  had  no  model.  He  speaks 
of  the  gods  and  their  relations  with  men.  He  speaks  of 
the  physical  universe,  and  gives  an  elaborate  descrip- 
tion of  it,  in  which  he  refers  to  the  stars  and  constella- 
tions, and  the  occupations  of  those  who  dwell  in  the 
land  of  shadows.  It  seems  clear  from  his  observations 
on  these  topics  that  Homer  was  ignorant  of  Hebrew 
literature  contained  in  the  Old  Testament,  which  bears 
internal  evidence  of  having  been  written  centuries 
before  the  age  usually  attributed  to  Homer. 

Job  refers  to  the  same  constellations  to  which  Homer 
refers,  Arcturus,  Orion  and  the  Pleiades.  He  asks 
some  questions,  which,  had  Homer  heard  them,  would 
doubtless  have  manifested  themselves  in  his  writings 
and  would  have  colored  the  expressions  in  his  poems. 


62 


MIUTA&T   ANNALS   OF   GEEECE 


If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  agam?  Where  wast  thou 
when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth?  Where- 
upon are  the  foundations  thereof  fastened,  or,  who 
laid  the  comer  stone  thereof?  Hath  the  rain  a  father? 
Who  hath  begotten  the  drops  of  dew?  Job  refers 
always  to  Jehovah,  the  only  god  known  to  the  He- 
brews. He  describes  his  power  as  Homer  describes 
the  power  of  Zeus  (Jupiter),  whom  the  Hellenes  de- 
clared to  be  the  supreme  ruler  of  the  universe.  But  the 
description  of  the  sovereignty  and  omnipotence  of  the 
Jehovah  or  Eloliim  of  the  Hebrews,  as  depicted  in  the 
Old  Testament,  far  surpasses  in  beauty  and  in  strength 
and  sublimity  of  thought,  the  work  of  the  master  poet 
of  Hellas.  In  the  Eighth  Book  of  the  Iliad,  Homer, 
speaking  of  the  power  and  authority  of  the  father  of 
the  gods,  declares : 

••  Now  mom  in  saffron  robes  had  spread  her  light 
0*er  all  the  earth,  when  Jove,  the  Thunderer, 
Summoned  the  gods  to  council  on  the  heights 
Of  many-peaked  Olympus.     He  addressed 
The  Assembly,  and  all  listened  as  he  spoke. 

•       •        •        •        •        •        •        •        •        *,* 

Whosoever,  stealing  from  the  rest,  shall  seek 

To  aid  the  Grecian  cause,  or  that  of  Troy, 
Back  to  Olympus,  scourged  and  in  disgrace. 
Shall  he  be  brought,  or  I  will  seize  and  hurl 
The  offender  down  to  rayless  Tartarus; 
Deep,  deep  in  the  great  gulf  below  the  earth. 
With  iron  gates,  and  threshold  forged  of  brass,  — 
As  far  beneath  the  shades,  as  earth  from  heaven. 
Then  shall  he  learn  how  greaUy  I  surpass 
All  other  gods  in  power.    Try,  if  ye  will. 
Ye  gods,  that  all  may  know:  suspend  from  heaven 
A  golden  chain;    let  all  the  immortal  host 
Cling  to  it  from  below;  ye  could  not  draw, 
Strive  as  ye  might,  the  all-disposing  Jove, 
From  heaven  to  earth.    And  yet.  if  I  should  choose 
To  draw  it  upward  to  me,  I  should  lift. 
With  it  and  you,  the  earth  itself  and  sea 
Together,  and  I  then  would  bind  the  chain, 
Around  the  summit  of  the  Olympian  mount. 
And  they  should  hang  aloft.    So  far  my  power 
Surpasses  all  the  power  of  gods  ^nd  mew,** 


POWER   OF    JEHOVAH 


63 


How  does  this  picture  of  the  strength  and  power  of 
Zeus,  compare  with  the  majesty  and  sublimity  of 
thought  in  the  Hebrew  poems,  when  speaking  of  the 
god  of  Israel?  Thus  Job:  "The  pillars  of  heaven 
tremble,  and  are  astonished  at  his  reproof.  He  divideth 
the  sea  with  power,  and  by  his  understanding  he  smiteth 
through  the  proud.  By  his  Spirit  he  has  garnished 
the  heavens ;  his  hand  has  formed  the  crooked  serpent. 
...  He  overturneth  the  mountains  by  the  roots.  He 
cutteth  out  rivers  among  the  rocks ;  and  his  eye  seeth 
every  precious  thing.  He  looketh  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  and  seeth  under  the  whole  heaven;  to  make  the 
weight    for  the  winds;    and   weigheth   the   waters   by 

measure." 

Equally  beautiful  is  the  description  of  Jehovah's 
power  in  the  Psalms  of  David,  who  was  brought  up 
as  a  shepherd  boy  among  the  hills  of  Judea,  and  who 
subsequently  became  the  greatest  of  Israel's  kings. 
**  O  Lord  my  God,  thou  art  very  great,  thou  art  clothed 
with  honor  and  majesty.  Who  coverest  thyself  with 
light  as  with  a  garment;  who  stretchest  out  the 
heavens  like  a  curtain;  who  layest  the  beams  of  his 
chambers  in  the  waters;  who  maketh  the  clouds  his 
chairot ;  who  walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind.  .  .  . 
He  watereth  the  hills  from  his  chambers.  ...  He  look- 
eth on  the  earth,  and  it  trembleth ;   he  touches  the  hills, 

and  they  smoke."  ^ 

Solomon,  also,  who  lived  more  than  a  century  before 
Homer,  made  some  remarkable  declarations.  He  de- 
clares that  all  things  are  of  dust,  and  turn  to  dust 
again;  that  when  man  dies  his  dust  shall  return  to 
the  earth  as  it  was,  but  "  the  spirit  shall  return  unto 
God  who  gave  it."  ^  Solomon  also  says  that  wis- 
dom was  coeval  with  Jehovah :  "  The  Lord  possessed 
me  in  the  beginning  of  his  way.  ...  I  was  set  up  from 


^I'salms,  civ» 


«]eceles.  xil,  7, 


64 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


everlasting,  from  the  beginning,  or  ever  the  earth  was. 
When  there  were  no  depths  I  was  brought  forth.  .  .  . 
Before  the  mountains  were  settled,  before  the  hills  was 
I  brought  forth;  while  as  yet  he  had  not  made  the 
earth,  nor  the  fields,  nor  the  highest  part  of  the  dust  of 
the  world.  When  he  prepared  the  heavens  I  was  there ; 
when  he  set  a  compass  upon  the  face  of  the  depth. 
When  he  established  the  clouds  above,  when  he  strength- 
ened the  fountains  of  the  deep ;  when  he  gave  to  the  sea 
his  decree;  that  the  waters  should  not  pass  his  com- 
mandment; when  he  appointed  the  foundations  of  the 
earth.  Then  I  was  by  him,  as  one  brought  up  with  him, 
and  I  was  daily  his  delight."  * 

Homer's  ideals  of  divine  power  and  majesty,  as  de- 
scribed in  the  opening  of  the  Eighth  Book  of  the  Iliad, 
and  his  conception  of  the  universe  as  described  in  the 
eighteenth,  indicate  clearly  that  he  was  wholly  un- 
familiar with  the  writings  of  the  Hebrews,  and  knew 
nothing  of  the  power  and  majesty  of  the  Jehovah  of 
the  Israelites  as  set  forth  in  the  first  chapter  of  Gene- 
sis, in  the  book  of  Job,  in  the  Psalms  of  David  or  in  the 
works  of  Solomon.  What  influence  these  writings  of 
the  Hebrews  would  have  had  upon  the  intellect  of  a 
poet,  endowed  with  the  genius  revealed  in  the  Iliad  and 
the  Odyssey,  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture.  But  when 
the  Greek  and  Hebrew  writings  are  compared,  it  is  ob- 
vious that  the  Hellenic  bard  was  ignorant  of  the  sub- 
lime poetry  contained  in  the  literature  of  the  Israelites, 
which  was  extant  in  his  time,  portions  of  which  were 
composed  more  than  eight  hundred  years  before  the 
middle  of  the  ninth  century  B.  C,  the  period  when 
Homer  was  supposed  to  have  flourished.  Modem 
scholars  have  established  the  chronology  of  these  au- 
thors approximately  as  follows:  The  time  of  Job  is 
placed  about  1620  B.  C. ;    the  death  of  Moses  about 

1  Proverbs  viii,  22-30. 


WEITINGS    OF    SOLOMON 


65 


1451;  of  David  about  1015;  the  death  of  Solomon, 
975.  Homer  according  to  the  weight  of  authority 
flourished  about  850  B.  C. 

What  writer  thus  far  has  given  any  satisfactory 
reason  for  the  fact,  that  the  literary  men  of  Hellas  had 
no  knowledge  of  the  literature  of  the  Hebrews;  the 
nation  that  produced  the  authors  of  the  Old  Testament, 
whose  sacred  poetry  has  never  been  surpassed.  It  has 
survived  the  ages,  and  will  live  forever,  although  some 
of  it  is  so  old  that  its  origin  and  its  authorship  are 
lost  in  the  twilight  of  antiquity. 

If  we  can  credit  Josephus,  Solomon  was  the  most 
voluminous  writer  and  the  most  eminent  man  of  letters 
that  ever  lived.  He  excelled  all  his  contemporaries  in 
wisdom  and  learning.  "  He  composed  books  of  odes 
and  songs  one  thousand  and  five,"  says  Josephus,  "  of 
parables  and  similitudes  three  thousand;  for  he  spake 
a  parable  upon  every  sort  of  tree,  from  the  hyssop  to 
the  cedar,  and  in  like  manner  also  about  beasts,  about  all 
sorts  of  living  creatures,  whether  upon  the  earth  or  in 
the  seas,  or  in  the  air,  for  he  was  not  unacquainted  with 
any  of  their  natures,  nor  omitted  inquiries  about  them, 
but  described  them  all  like  a  philosopher,  and  demon- 
strated his  exquisite  knowledge  of  their  several  prop- 
erties." 

This  testimony  seems  to  establish  beyond  question 
two  important  facts,  first,  that  the  Israelites  from  the 
earliest  times  were  a  literary  people,  and  loved  the  arts, 
as  well  as  the  sciences ;  and  second,  that  the  HeUenese, 
in  the  age  of  Homer  also  excelled  in  literature.  The 
evidence  is  conclusive  also  that  the  Hellenese  mingled 
freely  with  the  Israelites,  Phoenicians  and  Egyptians, 
and  traded  with  them.  In  Homer's  time,  it  seems  that 
a  slave  trade  was  carried  on  between  the  Phoenicians 
and  the  Greeks,  and  that  the  subject  of  their  traffic 
was  Hebrew  maidens  and  Israelitish  women,  and  that 
the  principal  slave  marts  were  established  at  Tyre  and 


LEARNING    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS 


66 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


i 


Sidon.  Notwithstanding,  these  people  were  not  isolated, 
but  traded  with  each  other  continually,  yet  the  wealth 
of  Hebrew  literature,  somehow,  seems  never  to  have  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  literary  men  of  Hellas. 

In  this  connection  it  will  be  interesting  to  note  the 
condition  of  learning  among  the  early  Israelites  while 
they  yet  dwelt  in  Chaldea.  If  we  may  credit  Josephus, 
it  would  seem  that  Abraham  was  driven  out  of  Chaldea 
for  opinion's  sake.  The  old  patriarch  was  the  first  to 
declare  the  doctrine  of  monotheism.  This  sublime  truth, 
we  are  told,  was  revealed  to  Abraham  through  his  ob- 
servations of  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens,  and  the 
earth,  the  changes  in  the  physical  world,  on  land  and 
sea;  the  spectacle  of  the  sun  and  its  apparent  motion, 
the  phases  of  the  moon  and  the  variations  in  the  sea- 
sons, of  the  constellations,  and  the  glittering  hosts  in 
the  starry  heavens.  The  old  patriarch  of  Israel  was  a 
man  of  attainments,  and  skilled  in  the  learning  of  the 
Chaldeans,  with  whom  he  dwelt  in  Ur.  The  science  of 
astronomy  and  learning  as  to  the  heavenly  bodies,  was 
cultivated  among  them.  As  the  motions  of  stars  and 
planets  were  irregular,  Abraham  argued  that  their 
movements  were  not  produced  by  any  inherent  power  in 
the  bodies  themselves,  but  that  they  were  of  necessity 
subservient  to  the  power  of  Jehovah,  by  whom  all  things 
were  created. 

Because  Abraham  entertained  these  views  with  re- 
spect to  theology,  we  are  told,  the  Chaldean  priesthood, 
who  were  the  first  astronomers  of  whom  we  have  any 
knowledge,  and  the  priests  of  Mesopotamia,  raised  a 
tumult  against  Abraham.  Thus  in  the  tenth  generation 
after  the  flood,  more  than  nineteen  hundred  years  be- 
fore the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  Abraham  was 
persecuted  for  opinion's  sake.  For  this  cause  he  went 
out  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  and  journeyed  to  Haran. 
When  he  quitted  Haran,  he  settled  in  the  strip  of  coun- 
try between  the  mountains  of  Lebanon  and  the  Mediter- 


67 


ranean  which  they  called  the  land  of  Canaan.  Now 
Canaan  was  the  fourth  son  of  Ham.  The  Biblical 
account  tells  us  that  Abraham  reigned  at  Damascus. 
Other  branches  of  the  Semitic  race  journeyed  to  and 
dwelt  in  the  land  of  Canaan  and  built  there  the  cities 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  long  before  the  advent  of  Abraham. 
These  early  races,  or  sub  races  were  referred  to  by  the 
Hellenic  mariners  and  merchants  as  Phoenicians,  who 
sold  Hebrew  slaves.  Abraham,  after  he  came  into 
Canaan,  suffered  by  reason  of  a  famine  which  visited 
the  land,  and  journeyed  thence  into  Egypt,  and  it  is 
said  that  he  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  study  of 
astronomy  among  the  Egyptians.  It  seems  to  be  well 
established  also  that  Greek  colonists  migrated  to  Egypt 
and  dwelt  there,  even  before  Abraham  visited  the  land 

of  the  Nile. 

We  know  also  that  the  Egyptians  excelled  in  mathe- 
matics. Of  this  we  are  reminded  constantly  by  the 
Pyramids,  by  the  ancient  temples  at  Karnak  and  Luxor, 
at  Thebes  and  Memphis,  which  attest,  after  more  than 
three  thousand  years,  that  the  men  who  built  them  were 
proficient  in  the  higher  branches  of  mathematics. 

These  observations  show  that  the  people  of  the  an- 
cient world  excelled  in  certain  branches  of  the  arts  and 
sciences ;  that  their  countries  were  not  isolated,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  that  extensive  commercial  relations  ex- 
isted among  the  people  of  the  several  nations  about  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  ^gean  and  the 
Euxine.  It  seems  clear,  also,  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
literature  of  the  Israelites  never  extended  to  the  Greeks 
or  to  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  until  after  the 
time  of  Alexander  the  Great. 


CHAPTER    V 

SPARTA  — LYCURGUS  — THE  ACHAEAN  AND  DORIAN 
SUPREMACY  IN  THE  PELOPONNESUS 

PARTA,  the  ancient  capital  of  Laconia,  is 
situated  on  the  plain,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Eurotas,  where  it  is  joined  by  its  confluent, 
the  CEnus.  The  valley  of  the  Eurotas  lies 
between  the  mountain  ranges  of  Taygetus, 
on  the  west,  which  forms  the  boundary  between  Laconia 
and  Messenia,  and  Mount  Pamon  on  the  east.  Rising 
from  the  perimeter  of  this  stretch  of  country,  the 
slopes  of  the  surrounding  mountains  and  hills  form  a 
great  bowl  or  basin  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  the  plain 
and  valley  of  the  Eurotas.  Homer  describes  it,  as  if 
looking  into  the  valley  from  the  mountain  tops,  as  the 
"  lovely  hollow  Lacedamon." 

The  locality  is  historic.  In  Argolis,  forty  miles  to 
the  northeast,  is  Argos,  in  the  plain  of  Argos.  In  the 
immediate  vicinity  is  the  ancient  Tiryns  and  the  City 
of  Mycenae,  said  to  have  been  founded  by  the  Phrygian 
Pelops,  the  famed  capital  of  Agamemnon.  Mycenae  is 
twenty  miles  northeast  of  Argos,  and  is  almost  midway 
between  Argos  and  Corinth. 

When  Agamemnon  reigned  in  Mycenae,  his  brother 
Menelaus  was  King  of  Sparta,  and  Diomedes  King  of 
Argos.  Homer,  referring  to  the  Hellenes  in  the  Pelo- 
ponnesus, calls  them  Achaeans,  Argives  and  Danaans. 
These  names  are  sometimes  used  in  the  Iliad  as  syn- 
onymous terms,  and  in  a  generic  sense,  to  indicate  the 
branch  of  the  Hellenic  race,  which  in  the  heroic  age, 

68 


THE   AGE   OF   LYCUEGUS 


69 


had  acquired  the  ascendency  over  the  greater  part  of 
the  Peloponnesus. 

Inquiry  as  to  the  lineage  of  Lycurgus,  the  law- 
giver of  Sparta,  and  the  epoch  in  which  he  lived,  in- 
volves a  discussion  of  the  return  of  the  Heraclidas,  the 
Dorian  invasion,  and  the  succession  of  the  Dorian  over 
the  Achaean  supremacy  in  the  Peloponnese,  one  of  the 
unsolved  problems  of  prehistoric  Hellas,  which  will  be 
discussed  presently. 

The  age  of  Lycurgus  belongs  probably  to  the  first 
half  of  the  ninth  century  B.  C.  If  this  conjecture  is 
correct,  Lycurgus  flourished  nearly  a  century  before  the 
first  recorded  Olympiad,  B.  C.  776,  from  which  event 
is  traced  some  isolated  fragments  of  authentic  history. 
The  age  of  Lycurgus,  therefore,  lies  beyond  the  domain 
of  historic  time,  and  belongs  to  the  age  of  tradition. 
It  was  presumably  the  age  in  which  Homer  lived,  and 
some  authorities  declare  that  the  great  legislator  of 
Sparta,  in  his  extensive  travels,  met  and  conversed  with 
the  poet,  with  whom  it  is  alleged  he  was  a  contempo- 
rary. For  the  purpose  of  fixing  the  chronology  of 
contemporaneous  events,  it  may  be  observed  that  dur- 
ing this  period,  the  prophet  Elisha  performed  his  won- 
derful miracles  among  the  children  of  Israel,  having 
healed  Naaman  of  his  leprosy,  and  breathed  life  into 
the  dead  son  of  the  Shunamite  woman. 

Although  the  greatest  literary  monument  of  all  time 
was  composed  and  perhaps  written  in  the  age  of  Lycur- 
gus, that  epoch  was  long  prior  to  the  historic  age 
of  Hellas.  It  was  still  the  age  of  poetry  and  fable,  of 
legend  and  romance,  and  four  centuries  passed  before 
the  sun  of  Herodotus  rose  above  the  literary  horizon. 
Indeed,  our  information  concerning  the  individuality 
of  Lycurgus  is  so  vague,  that  some  authorities  have 
denied  his  existence,  and  have  assumed  that  such  a  per- 
sonage never  lived.  Nevertheless,  some  modern  scholars, 
and  among  them  Mr.  Grote,  upon  a  review  of  all  the 


70 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


evidence  attainable,  have  reached  the  conclusion  that 
Lycurgus  lived  sometime  in  the  first  half  of  the  ninth 
century  B.  C,  and  that  he  secured  the  enactment  of  the 
laws  and  ordinances  which  bear  his  name,  under  which 
the  Lacedamonian  military  republic  flourished. 

Nevertheless  the  ancient  authors  who  wrote  four  cen- 
turies and  more  after  his  death,  were  obliged  to  indulge 
in  speculation  concerning  him.  They  did  not  have  suf- 
ficient reliable  data  as  to  his  birth  and  lineage,  or  the 
age  in  which  he  lived,  to  enable  them  to  write  a  satis- 
factory biography,  and  were  unable  to  agree  as  to 
whether  he  was  an  actual  or  mythical  personage.  Plu- 
tarch has  contributed  the  fullest  details  that  have  come 
down  to  us,  in  his  interesting  sketch  of  his  life.  He 
thus  reveals  his  embarrassment  in  the  opening  sentences 
of  his  biography: 

"  There  is  so  much  uncertainty  in  the  accounts  which 
historians  have  left  us  of  Lycurgus,  the  lawgiver  of 
Sparta,  that  scarcely  anything  is  asserted  by  one  of 
them,  which  is  not  called  in  question  or  contradicted  by 
the  rest.  Their  sentiments  are  quite  different  as  to  the 
family  he  came  of,  the  voyages  he  undertook,  the  place 
and  manner  of  his  death,  but  most  of  all  when  they 
speak  of  the  laws  he  made,  and  the  commonwealth  which 
he  founded.  They  cannot  by  any  means  be  brought  to 
an  agreement  as  to  the  very  age  in  which  he  lived;  for 
some  of  them  say  he  flourished  in  the  time  of  Iphitus, 
and  that  they  two  jointly  contrived  the  ordinance  for 
the  cessation  of  arms  during  the  solemnity  of  the  Olym- 
pian games." 

This  latter  estimate,  cited  by  Plutarch,  places  the 
time  of  Lycurgus  nearly  half  a  century  later  than  is 
consistent  with  the  more  reliable  authorities.  The 
Olympian  games  were  of  great  antiquity  and  were  cele- 
brated long  before  the  time  of  Iphitus,  King  of  Elis. 
In  the  reign  of  the  latter,  however,  the  games  were  cele- 
brated at  Olympia,  his  capital,  and  the  year  776  B.  C. 


LINEAGE    OP    LYCUKGUS 


71 


is  fixed  as  the  date  of  the  first  recorded  Olympiad, 
from  which  is  derived  the  chronology  of  the  early  Hel- 
lenes. . 

Lycurgus  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Hercules.  In 
the  age  of  fable,  Lacedamon  ruled  the  city  on  the  banks 
of  the  Eurotas,  and  gave  to  it  the  name  of  his  wife 
Sparta,  daughter  of  Eurotas,  King  of  the  Leleges.  He 
introduced  the  worship  of  the  Graces,  and  built  a  tem- 
ple in  their  honor.  Since  his  time,  the  city  was  desig- 
nated interchangeably  Lacedamon  and  Sparta. 

King  Lacedamon  was  of  Achaean  blood.  His  line  be- 
came extinct  on  the  death  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  sons  of 
Tyndarus,  whose  daughter  Helen  was  the  cause  of  the 
war  with  Troy.  Under  Agamemnon,  Argos  and 
Mycenae  were  joined  in  a  confederacy  with  Sparta, 
which  also  included  Tiryns  and  Corinth.  Heracles 
(designated  by  the  Romans,  Hercules),  according  to 
the  legend,  was  a  King  of  Sparta,  and  was  lawful  heir 
to  the  throne  of  Argos.  His  descendants,  the  Hera- 
clidffi,  subsequently,  about  1080  B.  C,  conquered  their 
Achaean  kinsmen  on  their  return  to  the  Peloponnesus, 
in  the  reign  of  Tisamenes,  son  of  Orestes,  and  grandson 
of  Agamemnon.  About  this  time  was  established  in 
Sparta,  the  diarchy,  or  dual  kingship,  which  prevailed 
in  the  time  of  Lycurgus.  The  diarchy  was  supposed 
to  have  arisen  from  the  fact  that  the  queen  of  King 
Aristodemus  gave  birth  to  twins,  and  neither  the  queen 
mother,  nor  the  oracle  at  Delphi,  deemed  it  prudent 
to  decide  which  of  the  children  was  born  first. 

The  descendants  of  Hercules  settled  in  the  Pelopon- 
nesus, and  after  the  death  of  their  great  ancestor,  were 
driven  out  by  Eurystheus,  and  sought  shelter  in  Attica, 
As  they  inhabited  the  Peloponnesus  in  the  heroic  age, 
we  must  assume  that  the  Heraclidae  were  of  Achaean 
blood.  The  ancient  authors,  except  Simonides  (who  was 
a  contemporary  of  Pisistratus),  assert  that  Lycurgus 
was  the  son  of  Eunomus,  and  a  younger  brother  of 


J 


72 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


Polydectus.     He  was  sixth  in  the  line  of  descent  from 
Patrocles,  and  the  eleventh  from  Hercules. 

The  ancestral  line  of  Heracleid  Kings  is  involved  in 
confusion  and  obscurity.     The  following  table  shows 
the  genealogy  of  Lycurgus,  according  to  Herodotus 
(viii,  131),  as  eighth  from  Hercules. 

Hercules 

I 

(1)  Hyllus 

I 

(2)  Cleodaeus 

I 

(3)  Aristomachus 

I 

(4)  Aristodemus 

I 

(5)  Procles  (Patrocles) 


(6)  Eurvphon 

(7)  Prytanis  (Eunomus) 


(8)     Polydectes  (by  first  wife)         (8)     Lycurgus  (by  Dionassa, 

second  wife) 

It  will  be  observed,  therefore,  in  order  to  make  Ly- 
curgus eleventh  in  the  line  from  the  common  ancestor, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  interpolate  Euristhenes,  brother 
of  Procles,  and  his  two  sons,  Sous  and  Agis,  as  having 
occupied  the  throne  of  Sparta. 

The  last  Kings  of  Sparta  were  Heraclidae.  Plutarch 
declares  that  Sous,  the  great-grandfather  of  Lycur- 
gus, was  the  most  renowned  of  all  his  ancestors.  Dur- 
ing his  reign  the  Spartans  made  slaves  of  the  Helots, 
and  added  a  part  of  Arcadia  to  their  dominions. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  trace  the  royal  Achaean  line, 
and  examine  the  legends  concerning  Hercules,  their  pro- 
genitor. By  reason  of  the  wrath  and  jealousy  of  Hera 
(Juno),  Hercules  became  a  wanderer,  subject  to  the 
commands  of  his  kinsman  Eurysthenes,  usurper  of  the 


HERCULES,    AND    THE    ACH^AN    UNE 


73 


throne  of  Argos,  at  whose  direction  he  perfonned  the 
Twelve  Labors.  Hera  was  Queen  of  Heaven,  and 
was  the  wife  and  the  sister  of  Zeus  (Jupiter),  the  su- 
preme ruler  of  the  universe.  Zeus  became  enamoured 
of  Alcmena,  wife  of  the  King  of  Argos,  who  had  been 
banished  from  his  dominions.  The  King  of  Heaven 
assumed  the  form  of  the  absent  husband  and  visited 
Alcmena,  who  afterwards  in  Thebes,  Beotia,  gave  birth 
to  Hercules.  Hera,  in  a  fit  of  jealous  rage  at  the 
thought  that  her  husband  should  love  a  mortal,  sent 
serpents  to  destroy  the  child ;  but  the  infant,  by  reason 
of  the  superhuman  strength  bestowed  through  the 
agency  of  Zeus,  destroyed  the  serpents  in  his  cradle. 
But  the  Queen  of  Heaven  pursued  him,  and  caused  him 
to  become  subject  to  Eurysthenes,  King  of  Mycenae, 
Who  commanded  him  to  perform  the  prodigies  which 
made  him  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  heroes  of  an- 
tiquity, the  superhuman  feats  known  as  the  Twelve 
Labors  of  Hercules.  He  also  slew  the  Centaurs,  des- 
troyed the  swallows  which  drained  Lake  Copias  in 
Beotia,  and  rent  the  rock  of  Gibraltar,  causing  the 
Mediterranean  to  flow  into  the  ocean  through  the  Pil- 
lars of  Hercules.  Upon  his  death  his  mortal  parts 
were  burned  and  purged  of  the  earthy,  and  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  circle  of  the  gods,  and  Hera,  having  be- 
come reconciled,  gave  him  in  marriage  her  daughter 
Hebe,  goddess  of  Youth  and  Springtime. 

Hercules,  on  his  mortal  side,  was  Achaean,  his  mother 
was  an  Argive,  wife  of  Argos'  banished  King.  His 
descendants,  the  Heraclidae,  were  of  the  royal  family 
of  Argos  and  became  fugitives  by  reason  of  the  perse- 
cution of  Eurysthenes.  They  took  refuge  in  Attica 
and  in  Beotia.  Eurysthenes,  on  his  death,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Pelopidae,  descendants  of  the  archaic 
Pelops,  from  whom  the  peninsula  derived  its  name. 
These  were  Phrygian  Achaeans,  and  doubtless  kin  to  the 
constituents  of  Priam,  king  of  Troy.    Hyllus  was  the 


74 


mUTAET   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


EETURN    OF    THE    HERACLID^ 


75 


eldest  son  of  Hercules.  While  a  fugitive  and  an  exile, 
he  gave  military  assistance  to  /Egirnius,  a  Dorian  chief, 
by  whom  he  was  afterwards  adopted,  and  the  Hera- 
clidae,  through  this  alliance  of  their  ancestor,  became 
nominally  Dorian. 

On  the  death  of  /Egimius,  Hyllus  succeeded  to  his 
throne,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  /Eginiius  left  two 
sons,  Pamphylas  and  Dymas.  After  Hyllus  became 
Dorian,  the  names  of  the  three  Dorian  tribes  were  desig- 
nated Hylleans,  Pamphylians  and  Dymanatae,  derived 
from  Hyllus,  and  the  two  sons  of  J^gimius.  Thus  the 
Dorian  rule  passed  to  Hyllus  and  to  his  descendants 
the  Heraclidie,  and  the  Achaean  line  became  nominally 
Dorian. 

Hyllus  and  his  Dorian  associates  planned  an  inva- 
sion of  the  Peloponnesus,  to  redeem  his  birthright.  He 
led  an  army  across  the  isthmus  of  Corinth.  It  was 
agreed  by  the  opposing  forces  to  decide  the  contest  by 
single  combat  between  Hyllus  and  Echemus  of  Tegea. 
In  the  encounter  Hyllus  was  slain.  The  Heraclidae  then 
under  the  compact  agreed,  in  case  their  leader  was  de- 
feated, to  renounce  their  attempts  to  invade  the  Pelo- 
ponnesus for  a  hundred  years.  This  period  having  ex- 
pired, Temeus,  Cresphontes  and  Aristodemus,  great- 
grandsons  of  Hyllus,  three  generations  later,  renewed 
the  enterprise  to  regain  their  supremacy  in  the  south- 
ern peninsula  of  Hellas.  They  were,  however,  warned 
by  the  Pythian  priestess  of  Delphi  not  to  attempt  to 
lead  their  armies  across  the  isthmus  of  Corinth,  but 
across  the  mouth  of  the  Corinthian  gulf  at  Naupactus, 
the  modern  Lepanto.  The  invaders  were  joined  by 
iEtolians  and  Locrians,  who  participated,  with  the 
Achaean-Dorians,  in  this  final  attempt  to  secure  su- 
premacy in  the  Peloponnesus.  Oxylus,  an  ^Etolian, 
acted  as  guide,  and  piloted  the  expedition. 

The  invaders  were  opposed  by  the  Peloponnesian 
Achaeans,  under  Tisamenes,  son  of  Orestes.    The  latter 


was  defeated.  The  invaders  established  themselves 
again  in  the  land  of  their  fathers,  and  the  death  of 
Hyllus  was  avenged.  This  campaign  was  the  success- 
ful movement  known  in  history  as  the  Dorian  Invasion 
and  the  "  Return  of  the  Heraclidae." 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  retaking  of  the  territory 
in  the  southern  peninsula  of  Greece  restored  Achaeans 
as  well  as  Dorians.  The  conquerors  were  now  divided 
into  three  tribes,  according  to  the  Doric  number  three ; 
namely,  Hylleans,  Pamphy leans  and  Dymanatae.  They 
divided  the  Achaean  territory  into  three  parts,  Argos, 
Sparta  and  Messenia,  for  which  they  cast  lots. 

The  new  possessions  fell  to  the  children  and  grand- 
children of  Aristodemus,  who  was  a  grandson  of  Hyllus, 
as  follows :  Argos  fell  to  Temenus,  eldest  son  of  Aris- 
tomachus;  Sparta  fell  to  Eurysthenes  and  Procles, 
children  of  Aristodemus,  son  of  Aristomachus ;  Mes- 
sina fell  to  Cresphontes,  third  son  of  Aristomachus. 

Thus  the  Heraclidae  reclaimed,  but  did  not  at  once 
acquire  possession  of  their  ancient  inheritance.  Their 
lineage  and  the  territory  they  endeavored  to  conquer 
is  shown  by  the  following  table: 

Hercules 

Hyllus 

I 
Cleodaemus 

Aristomachus 
6  I 


I 
Temeus 
(Argos) 


Aristodemus 


I 
Cresphontes 

(Messenia) 


Eurystheus 
(Sparta) 


I 
Procles 

(Sparta) 


To  Oxylus,  who  acted  as  guide,  and  piloted  the  ex- 
pedition, was  assigned  the  territory   of  Elis.     Thus 


76 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    6EEECE 


DORIANS    AND    ACHJIANS 


n 


Achseans,  allied  with  Dorians  and  ^tolians,  conquered 
Achasans,  many  of  whom  refused  to  submit  to  the  yoke 
of  the  invaders,  and  migrated  north,  to  the  southern 
shores  of  the  gulf  of  Corinth,  then  known  as  Ionia, 
drove  the  lonians  into  Attica,  and  settled  in  the  coun- 
try which  thereafter  was  called  Achaea. 

The  difficulty  in  fixing  the  probable  date  of  the  "  Re- 
turn of  the  Heraclida? "  and  the  Dorian  invasion  arises 
from  our  inability  to  fix  the  date  of  the  Trojan  War. 
Thucydides  says  that  the  Beotians  were  driven  out  of 
Arne,  in  Thessaly,  in  the  sixtieth  year  after  the  fall  of 
Troy  and  that  the  Dorians  in  the  eightieth  year  there- 
after "  took  possession  of  the  Peloponnese  with  the 
Heraclidae."  Allowing  three  generations  to  a  century. 
Canon  Rawlinson  estimates  seventeen  generations,  or 
566  years  from  the  time  of  Aristodemus,  fourth  in  the 
hne  of  descent  from  Hercules  to  the  time  of  Leonidas 
and  Leotychides,  who  reigned  in  Sparta  when  Xerxes  in- 
vaded Greece  B.  C.  480.  The  calculation  is  based  on 
the  genealogy  of  these  Spartan  kings  as  given  by  He- 
rodotus (vii,  204,  viii,  131).  Aristodemus,  it  will  be 
observed,  was  the  great-grandson  of  Hyllus,  son  of 
Hercules,  and  if  this  theory  is  correct,  he  led  the  Do- 
rians and  Heraclidae  into  the  Peloponnesus  566  years 
before  the  invasion  of  Xerxes,  B.  C.  480.  The  approx- 
imate date  of  the  Dorian  invasion,  therefore,  he  places 
about  B.  C.  1046.  If  this  invasion  was,  as  Thucydides 
says,  eighty  years  after  the  fall  of  Troy,  that  event 
happened  according  to  the  calculation  of  Canon  Raw- 
linson about  1126  B.  C. 

Eratosthenes,  on  the  other  hand,  a  grammarian  of 
Alexandria,  assigns  407  years  before  the  first  recorded 
Olympiad  which  is  fixed  at  B.  C.  776,  or  about  B.  C. 
1184,  as  the  most  probable  date  of  the  fall  of  Troy, 

It  must  not  be  assumed,  however,  that  the  success  of 
the  invaders  in  gaining  a  foothold  in  the  Peloponnese 
gave  them  dominion  of  the  peninsula.    It  took  centuries 


for  the  Heracleid-Achaean  and  Dorian  invaders  to  con- 
quer Laconia  and  Messenia,  as  will  be  shown  presently. 
We  find  strong  corroborative  evidence  to  justify  the 
conclusion  that  there  were  no  Dorians  in  the  Peloponne- 
sus until  they  came  into  the  peninsula  in  force  with  the 
Heraclidae,  at  the  period  known  as  the  Dorian  invasion 
or  the  "  Return  of  the  Heraclidae,"  in  the  fact  that  the 
Iliad  makes  no  reference  at  all  to  Dorians  in  the  Pelo- 
ponnesus. In  the  Odyssey  (xx,  210-220)  they  are  men- 
tioned but  once  in  connection  with  the  numerous  tribes 
on  the  island  of  Crete. 

"  Crete  is  a  region  Ijing  in  the  midst 
Of  the  black  deep,  a  fair  and  fruitful  land, 
Girt  by  the  waters.    Many  are  the  men. 
Nay  numberless,  who  make  it  their  abode; 
And  ninety  are  its  cities.    Different  tongues 
Are  spoken  by  dwellers  of  the  isle. 
In  part  they  are  Achaeans,  and  in  part 
Are  Cretans  of  the  soil,  a  gallant  stock; 
There  dwell  Cydonians,  Dorians  of  three  tribes; 
And  proud  Pelasgians." 

As  has  been  observed,  Lycurgus,  according  to  some 
of  the  authorities  cited  by  Plutarch,  was  contempora- 
neous with  Homer,  who  makes  mention  of  Dorians  only 
in  Crete.  From  this  we  may  infer  that  before  the  expul- 
sion or  voluntary  exile  of  the  Heraclidae,  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  peninsula  were  Achaean,  and  that  the  Hera- 
clidae themselves  were  Achaean.  Lycurgus,  who  was  a 
lineal  descendant  of  Hercules,  if  we  can  place  any  reli- 
ance at  all  on  the  ancient  tradition,  was  not  Dorian,  but 
Achaean,  in  the  sense  that  he  was  of  the  Heracleid  line. 

The  descendants  of  the  archaic  Greeks  regarded  the 
account  of  the  deeds  of  their  ancestors  as  recorded  in 
the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey  as  the  canon  of  the  highest 
possible  distinction.  These  poems  were  indeed  the  Hel- 
lenic Bible,  revered  by  the  Greeks  as  no  other  book. 
Homer,  as  has  been  observed,  does  not  refer  to  the 
Dorians  at  all  in  the  Iliad,  but  the  Achaeans  are  con- 


78 


MIUTABY   ANNALS   OF    6EEECE 


spicuaus  in  the  poem,  and  renowned  for  their  deeds  of 
martial  valor,  the  word  Achaean  being  sometimes  used 
as  a  generic  term  for  the  Hellenese.  The  plain  of 
Argos  and  "  the  hollow  Lacedamon "  are  fully  de- 
scribed, and  their  heroes,  Agamemnon,  Menelaus,  Dio- 
medes  and  Achilles,  the  Thessalian  Achaean,  are  among 
the  most  conspicuous  characters. 

Some  authorities  assert  that  the  Hellenes  were  sub- 
divided into  four  great  branches,  deriving  their  names 
from  the  immediate  posterity  of  Deucalion,  namely, 
iEolians,  lonians,  Dorians  and  Achaeans,  as  will  more 
readily  appear  from  the  following  table: 


Donis  (Dorians) 


Deucalion  —  Pyrrha 

I 
Hdlen  (Hellenes) 


Xuthus 


AchiEus  (Achseans) 


I 
iEoIus  (iEollans) 


(ionU 


Ion  (lonians) 


It  seems  clear,  however,  that  the  Acha?ans  were  not  a 
distinct  Hellenic  race  in  the  sense  that  the  lonians  and 
the  Dorians  were,  nor  in  the  sense  that  the  JEolians, 
Phocians  and  ^tolians  were.  We  find  nowhere  a  dis- 
tinctive Achaean  language,  Achaean  art,  or  Achaean  re- 
ligion. We  may  safely  assert  that  they  were  not  a  dis- 
tinct tribe  or  branch,  but  that  Heracleids  and  Achaeans 
were  powerful  families  in  the  royal  line  closely  allied  to 
the  lonians,  and  descended  both  from  Perseus  and  Her- 
cules. In  their  veins  ran  the  blood  of  Perseus,  the  Attic 
hero,  and  of  Hercules,  rightful  ruler  of  Sparta,  in  the 
sense  that  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster  repre- 
sented powerful  families  in  the  Plantagenet  line  of 
English  sovereigns.  These  branches  of  the  Anglo-Nor- 
man race  contended  for  supremacy  and  waged  intes- 


ACHILLES    or    ACH^AN    BLOOD 


79 


tine  war.  Their  emblem  was  the  rose,  the  white  being 
the  symbol  of  the  house  of  York ;  the  red  of  the  house 
of  Lancaster.  On  this  account  the  wars  they  waged  are 
known  as  the  "  Wars  of  the  Roses."  These  powerful 
families  were  finally  merged  in  the  house  of  Tudor,  in 
the  person  of  the  Earl  of  Richmond,  who  after  the 
death  of  Richard  III,  on  the  field  of  Bosworth,  ascended 
the  throne  as  Henry  VII,  the  first  of  the  Tudor  line. 
From  thence  the  Plantagenets  disappear  from  history, 
and  we  find  the  new  emblem,  the  double  rose,  known  as 
the  Tudor  Rose.    So  the  old  couplet  runs : 

"  In  this  Seventh""  Henry,  the  roses  unite, 
His  own  was  the  red,  and  his  wife's  was  the  white." 

In  like  manner  the  Achaeans,  Argives,  Danaans  and 
Heracleids,  are  known  as  lonians  and  Dorians,  the  lat- 
ter being  distinct  tribes,  with  their  distinct  dialects  and 
tribal  characteristics. 

Achilles  came  from  Phthlotis  in  Thessaly.  Professor 
Curtius  observes  that  Achilles  "  preferred  a  short  life, 
full  of  great  deeds,  to  a  long  life  full  of  comfort,  but 
devoid  of  glory,"  and  characterizes  him  as  "  an  im- 
perishable monument  of  the  chivalrous  heroism,  of  the 
idealism  and  poetic  genius  of  the  Achaeans."  The 
founder  of  Mycenae  was  said  to  have  been  Perseus,  the 
hero  of  Attica,  a  son  of  Zeus,  conceived  in  a  shower 
of  gold;  while  Heracles,  rightful  king  of  Sparta,  was 
of  Achasan  blood,  through  his  mother,  the  wife  of  the 
banished  king  of  Argos.  These  cities,  with  Tiryns, 
Sicyon  and  Corinth,  were  united  by  Agamemnon,  who 
was  also  Achaean,  and  formed  a  confederacy  with 
Sparta,  which  was  ruled  by  the  descendants  of  Hercules. 
Thus  the  ancient  sovereigns  of  the  Peloponnesus  were 
Hellenes,  whose  royal  houses  and  ruling  families  were 
Achaean  and  Heraclean. 

It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  the  Achaeans  and  the 
Heraclidae  do  not  denote  distinct  branches  of  the  Hel- 


8o 


MILITA&Y   ANNALS    OF    6fi££C£ 


CUSTHENES   AND    THE   AEGIVES 


8l 


lenic  race,  but  powerful  families,  tracing  their  ancestry 
from  both  Perseus  and  Hercules,  and  the  eponyms,  in 
that  sense  were  used  to  denote  descent  and  lineage. 

In  the  veins  of  Ljcurgus  ran  the  blood  of  Hercules. 
The  great  lawgiver,  therefore,  though  born  long  after 
the  Dorian  invasion,  was  Achaean  and  not  Dorian.  This 
conclusion  seems  justified  by  the  weight  of  authority, 
though  seemingly  inconsistent  with  the  fact  that  after 
the  Dorian  invasion,  known  as  the  "  Return  of  the 
Heraclidff,"  the  Peloponnesus  gradually  became  Dorian. 
Upon  this  theory  may  be  reconciled  the  early  conflict- 
ing myths  involved  in  the  "  Return  of  the  Heraclidae," 
and  the  Dorian  supremacy  in  the  Corinthian  peninsula, 
whose  early  rulers  were  Achaean  and  Heracleid  sov- 
ereigns of  Ionian  origin. 

The  early  inhabitants  of  Laconia  and  Messenia, 
which  comprise  the  southern  half  of  the  Corinthian  pen- 
insula, were  known  as  Achaeans  and  Pylians.  Their 
language  differed  little  from  the  Dorian  dialect.  Dur- 
ing the  Peloponnesian  war,  the  Messenians  who  were 
allied  with  the  Athenians  spoke  the  same  dialect  as  the 
Helots.  Mr.  Grote  says,  however,  that  the  Doric  dia- 
lect was  not  peculiar  to  the  Dorians.  It  seems  to  have 
been  the  dialect  of  the  Phocians,  Delphians,  Locrians, 
^tolians  and  of  the  ancient  Achieans,  who  dwelt  in 
Phthiotis,  in  Thessaly,  and  also  among  the  Achaeans  in 
the  Peloponnesus,  on  the  south  coast  of  the  Corinthian 
gulf.  If  any  presumption  arises  from  the  speech  and 
language  of  these  people,  it  would  seem  to  justify 
the  conclusion  that  the  Dorian  invaders  of  the  Pelo- 
ponnesus found  there  a  dialect  differing  but  slightly 
from  their  own. 

As  late  as  the  seventh  century  B.  C.  the  conquerors, 
who  founded  a  dynasty  in  Sicyon,  west  of  the  Co- 
rinthian isthmus,  entertained  hostihty  toward  the  Ar- 
gives,  who  boasted  of  their  descent  from  the  constituents 
q{  Agamemnon.     We  may  cite  one  instance  of  this. 


The  names  of  the  three  Dorian  tribes  were  Hylleis, 
Pamphyli  and  Dymanes.  But  Clisthenes  of  Sicyon, 
grandfather  of  the  Athenian  Clisthenes,  who  founded 
the  democracy  of  Attica,  made  war  against  Argos, 
whose  ancestors  prided  themselves  on  their  Achaean 
blood.  It  may  be  said  that  one  cause  of  the  hostility 
of  Clisthenes  to  the  Argives  was  jealousy,  and  envy  of 
their  noble  ancestry,  and  their  reverence  for  the  poems 
of  Homer,  in  which  the  Achaeans  were  honored  and  ex- 
alted for  their  feats  of  valor.  On  this  account  Clis- 
thenes suppressed  the  minstrels  and  rhapsodists  in 
Sicyon,  who  were  accustomed  to  chant  the  verses  of  the 
Iliad,  in  contending  for  public  prizes.  In  these  exer- 
cises, which  were  performed  for  the  edification  of  the 
multitude,  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  Argives  and  the 
glories  of  Argos  were  extolled  continually.  For  that 
reason  the  Homeric  poems  were  forbidden  at  Sicyon  in 
the  time  of  Clisthenes. 

His  hostility  to  the  Argives  also  caused  Clisthenes 
to  make  a  decree  changing  the  ancient  and  venerable 
names  of  the  three  Dorian  tribes,  to  wit,  the  Hylleans, 
Pamphylians  and  Dymanatae,  and,  in  order  to  degrade 
them,  gave  the  tribes  new  names  derived  from  words 
indicating  the  sow,  the  ass  and  the  pig.  The  reason 
which  Herodotus  assigns  for  this  stupid  act  was  in 
order  that  the  Sicyonians  and  Argives  might  not  have 
the  same  names.  In  the  time  of  his  grandson,  Clis- 
thenes the  Athenian  (about  595  B.  C),  the  Argives 
had  become  amalgamated  with  the  Dorian  tribes,  and 
almost  the  entire  Peloponnesus  had  become  Dorian. 

In  all  Dorian  cities,  there  were  distinguished  Hera- 
cleid families.  The  tribe  of  Hyllus,  for  example, 
claimed  lineal  descent  from  Hyllus,  the  eldest  son  of 
Heracles.  The  royal  families  of  Sparta  were  Hera- 
cleids  of  the  tribe  of  Hyllus.  This  view  is  supported 
by  Herodotus.     In  this  connection  Mr.  Grote  observes: 

"  The    chiefs    of    the   Heracleids    were    the    special 


82 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


i:  It 


grantees  of  the  soil  of  Sparta  from  the  gods  —  the 
occupation  of  the  Dorians  being  only  sanctified  and 
blest  by  Zeus  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the  chil- 
dren of  Heracles,  in  the  valley  of  the  Eurotas."  Re- 
ferring to  the  succession  of  Cleomenes  to  the  throne  of 
Sparta,  Herodotus  (v,  39)  observes:  "  Anaxandrides, 
son  of  Leon,  no  longer  survived  and  reigned  over 
Sparta,  but  was  already  dead ;  Cleomenes,  son  of  An- 
axandrides, held  the  soverignty,  not  having  acquired  it 
by  his  virtues,  but  by  his  birth." 

This  ancestral  pride  and  glory  in  Ach^an  blood  is 
further  illustrated  in  the  account  given  by  Herodotus 
(v,  12)  of  Cleomenes,  the  Spartan  king,  who  reigned 
jointly  with  Demaratus,  when  he  sought  shelter  with 
Isagoras,  in  the  temple  of  Athene  on  the  Acropolis. 
The  mcident  occurred  when  the  followers  of  Clisthenes 
refused  to  dissolve  the  Senate,  even  at  the  behest  of 
Isagoras,  supported  by  Cleomenes,  with  a  contingent 
of  Spartan  soldiers.  The  Lacedamonian  sovereign  ap- 
proached the  sanctuary  of  the  goddess  to  consult  her, 
but  the  priestess,  rising  from  her  seat  before  he  had 
passed  the  door  said :  "  Lacedamonian  stranger,  retire, 
nor  enter  within  this  precinct,  for  it  is  not  lawful  for 
Dorians  to  enter  here."  He  answered,  "  Woman,  I  am 
not  a  Dorian,  but  an  Achaean." 

This  incident  justifies  the  presumption  that  there 
were  two  houses  representing  the  royal  families  in 
Sparta,  the  sovereigns  ruling  jointly,  representing  both 
the  Achffian  and  Dorian  line  of  succession.  This  ex- 
planation of  the  diarchy  is  most  plausible,  and  is  based 
upon  the  fact  that  the  invasion  of  the  Peloponnesus 
was  accomplished  by  the  united  efforts  of  Ach»ans  and 
Dorians,  who  were  accompanied  by  ^tolians  also.  In 
the  division  of  power,  therefore,  both  were  represented, 
and  for  centuries  shared  jointly  the  honors  of  royalty. 
The  conquest  of  the  Peloponnesus,  after  the  first  im- 
pact of  the  Dorian  invasion,  covered  a  period  of  cen- 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    SPARTA 


83 


turles.  The  fact  that  the  Heraclidae  and  their  Dorian 
associates  won  a  substantial  victory,  after  they  had 
crossed  the  gulf  of  Corinth  from  Naupactus,  possibly 
in  Elis,  on  the  west  coast,  and  then  cast  lots  for  the 
territory  which  they  had  invaded,  does  not  justify  the 
conclusion  that  this  initial  victory  gave  them  control 
of  the  peninsula,  or  any  part  of  it.  The  route  taken 
by  the  invaders  is  wholly  a  subject  of  conjecture.  The 
opinion  entertained  by  Canon  Rawlinson  is  that  they 
came  south  through  Elis  to  the  banks  of  the  Alpheus, 
which  flows  northwest  through  Arcadia  and  Elis  into 
the  Ionian  Sea,  and  thence  proceeded  eastward  through 
the  valley  of  the  Alpheus  into  Messenia,  and  thence  east 
through  the  mountain  passes  into  Laconia  and  the  val- 
ley of  the  Eurotas.  They  then  fought  for  the  posses- 
sion of  the  cluster  of  villages  in  Laconia,  called  Sparta. 
The  struggle  was  long  and  tedious.  It  was  a  struggle 
by  Acluean  aided  by  Dorian  against  Achasan.  In  view 
of  the  character  of  the  combatants,  it  is  not  strange 
that  the  contest  lasted  for  centuries.  After  Sparta  was 
occupied,  the  Achaean  city  of  Amyclae,  two  miles  south, 
renowned  in  the  Iliad,  retained  its  independence  against 
the  invaders  for  nearly  three  hundred  years,  having 
held  out  till  about  B.  C.  8£6,  within  50  years  of  the 
first  recorded  Olympiad,  B.  C.  776.  The  struggle  then 
continued  against  the  Messenians  and  Helots  for  cen- 
turies. 

Thus,  when  Lycurgus  was  born,  his  countrymen  were 
in  a  state  of  perpetual  war,  seeking  to  establish  them- 
selves and  complete  the  conquest  of  Messenia  and  La- 
conia, which  embraced  the  southern  half  of  the  penin- 
sula. These  intestine  and  bloody  struggles  continued 
until  long  after  the  death  of  the  great  Spartan  law- 
giver, and  justifies  the  statement  of  Plutarch  that  when 
Lycurgus  planned  a  cure  for  the  evils  which  disturbed 
the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  his  country,  "  anarchy  and 
confusion  had  long  prevailed  in  Sparta,"  and  sedition 


MIUTARY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


and  misgovernment  disturbed  the  repose  and  quiet  of 
the  neighboring  states  and  bordering  nations  "  to 
whom  they  were  as  near  related  in  blood  as  situation." 
Such  was  the  environment  in  which  Lycurgus  found 
himself  and  the  conditions  which  prevailed  when  he 
established  the  Rhretra,  or  code  of  laws  and  ordinances, 
which,  in  a  measure  restored  order  and  harmony  among 
the  Lacedamonians,  and  converted  Sparta  into  a  mili- 
tary oligarchy  and  disciplined  camp. 


CHAPTER   VI 

SPARTA  — LAWS    AND    INSTITUTIONS  —  THE    RHRE- 
TRA   OF    LYCURGUS 

HE  best  modern  definition  of  law  is  that  given 
by  Sir  William  Blackstone,  the  eminent  Eng- 
lish commentator.  He  defines  it  as  a  rule  of 
civil  conduct,  prescribed  by  the  supreme 
power  in  the  state.  The  Israelites,  the  only 
early  monotheistic  race,  and  the  most  archaic  civilized 
people  of  whom  we  have  any  record,  who  became  a  na- 
tion after  their  flight  from  Egypt,  more  than  three  cen- 
turies before  the  Trojan  War,  and  prior  to  the  heroic 
age  of  Greece,  regarded  law  as  the  commands  given  by 
Jehovah,  the  invisible  ruler  of  the  universe,  the  only 
living  and  true  God,  directly  to  the  people,  through  the 
mouth  of  his  prophet  and  priest,  ordained  as  such,  to  be 
the  medium  through  which  the  divine  will  should  be  re- 
vealed to  man.  Among  the  Hellenes  who  were  polythe- 
ists,  or  rather  pantheists,  the  idea  of  law  was  similar  to 
that  entertained  by  the  Israelites,  in  that  they  believed 
that  all  law  for  the  government  of  the  state  should  bear 
the  sanction  and  approval  of  the  gods,  as  revealed 
through  the  medium  of  the  Pythian  priestess  of  the 
temple  of  Apollo,  at  Delphi.^  Lycurgus  consulted  the 
Oracle  to  secure  the  divine  sanction  and  approval  to  the 
Code  of  Laws  which  he  afterwards  established  for 
Sparta. 

Thus  the  devout  Israelite,  and  the  intellectual  Greek, 

*  Prophecies  were  also  delivered  in  the  temple  at  Dodona,  in 
Epirus. 

8s 


86 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


each  according  to  his  best  light  and  understanding,  re- 
garded law  as  of  divine  origin,  and  recognized  the  ruler 
or  rulers  of  the  universe  as  the  source  and  fountain  of 
justice. 

Lord  Bacon  speaks  of  law  as  streams  proceeding 
from  the  fountain  of  justice,  "  but  as  streams  and  like 
as  waters  do  take  tincture  and  taste  from  the  soils 
through  which  they  run,  so  do  civil  laws  vary  according 
to  the  regions  and  governments  where  they  are  planted, 
though  they  proceed  from  the  same  fountain."  Laws 
for  the  government  of  society  are  designed  to  be  of 
universal  application,  because  the  public  and  private 
conduct  of  every  member  of  the  state  is  supposed  to  be 
governed  by  law.  Without  law  society  cannot  exist. 
Law  is  the  antithesis  of  anarchy.  It  springs  from 
necessity  and  is  coeval  with  man.  The  law  of  nature 
has  no  direct  application  to  human  conduct.  Where 
men  are  reduced  to  a  state  of  nature,  without  govern- 
ment or  law  of  any  sort,  they  are  swayed  by  their 
whims  and  passions,  uncontrolled  in  the  exercise  of 
their  tastes  and  inclinations,  and  do  not  respect  their 
obligations  to  society,  or  the  moral  or  political  rights 
of  their  neighbors.  In  a  state  of  nature,  which  is  a 
state  of  anarchy,  the  weak  are  ruled  and  oppressed  by 
the  strong,  and  where  moral  obligations  are  not  recog- 
nized, life  is  not  sacred,  no  one  in  the  community  is  safe, 
and  instead  of  law,  liberty  and  order,  rapine,  lust  and 
murder  prevail.  Writers  of  distinction  sometimes  speak 
of  the  law  of  nature  and  nations.  This  must  be  for  the 
sake  of  the  alliteration.  The  expression  is  incorrect, 
because  the  law  of  nature  governs  the  physical  universe, 
and  the  complete  and  delicate  organism  of  the  human 
body.  These  obey  the  law  of  their  being,  prescribed  by 
their  creator.  Municipal  law  governs  the  conduct  of 
men  in  their  social  and  political  relations.  Constitu- 
tional law  defines  the  power  of  the  state,  as  exercised 
by  its  co-ordinate  branches  of  government.    The  moral 


SPAETA   IN    THE   AGE    OP    LYCUEGUS 


87 


law  governs  the  conscience,  and  the  conduct  of  man 
toward  his  creator  and  the  author  of  his  being,  and 
relates  to  the  moral  obligation  man  owes  to  his  fellow- 
men,  although  in  civilized  society,  human  conduct  with 
respect  to  moral  duties  and  obligations,  in  some  re- 
spects is  governed  by  the  municipal  law. 

In  order  to  understand  the  encomiums  which  the  phi- 
losophers of  antiquity  have  bestowed  upon  the  laws  of 
Lycurgus,  we  must  seek  to  divine  his  object  in  estab- 
lishing them,  the  social  and  political  conditions  of  the 
people  for  whose  benefit  they  were  established,  and  the 
views  Lycurgus  entertained  in  that  archaic  age  con- 
cerning the  powers  and  limitation  of  government.  It  is 
necessary  to  remember,  as  has  been  shown,  that  Sparta, 
in  the  age  of  Lycurgus,  was  an  armed  camp.  The 
Spartans  constituted  an  army  of  occupation,  surrounded 
by  a  people  engaged  in  a  continuous  struggle  for 
political  liberty  and  independence.  Sparta  was  an  in- 
land city,  in  the  valley  of  the  Eurotas,  practically  cut 
off  from  communication  with  the  commercial  world,  and 
with  those  busy  marts  and  trading  ports,  then  being 
established  on  the  shores  of  the  ^Egean  and  the  Medi- 
terranean. The  Spartans  or  Lacedamonians  were 
strangers  to  commerce,  and  diligently  excluded  all  for- 
eigners and  forbade  them  to  dwell  among  them.  They 
were  at  all  times  exposed  to  inroads  of  the  Arcadians 
and  Messenians,  whom  they  were  seeking  to  subdue  and 
conquer,  and  whose  states  bordered  immediately  upon 
their  territory  and  with  whom  they  were  constantly  at 
war.  The  inhabitants  of  Laconia  whom  they  partially 
subdued  were  doubtless  Achaeans  or  partly  of  Achaean 
blood.  These  unfortunate  people,  when  finally  forced 
to  yield,  were  obliged  to  till  the  soil,  or  work  at  rustic 
trades,  that  the  invaders,  who  formed  the  dominant 
class,  might  subsist  on  the  fruits  of  their  labor.  The 
subject  population  were  divided  into  what  were  known 
as  the  Helots  and  the  Perioeci.     The  condition  of  the 


»r 


88 


MILITARY   ANNALS   Of   OAEECE 


Helots  was  inferior.  They  were  reduced  to  a  base  form 
of  slavery  and  were  attached  to  the  land,  and  formed 
part  of  the  estate,  like  the  cattle  that  grazed  in  the 
fields.  Their  condition,  however,  was  somewhat  ameli- 
orated, in  that  they  were  allowed  to  keep  and  retain 
a  percentage  of  the  crops  and  produce  which  they 
raised.  They  bore  much  the  same  relation  to  the  ruhng 
class,  that  the  villains  in  England  did  to  their  Saxon 
and  Norman  lords,  but  were  required  to  perform  mili- 
tary service  at  all  times.  Villainage,  in  medieval  times, 
was  of  two  sorts :  villains  regardant,  who  were  annexed 
to  the  manor;  and  villains  in  gross,  or  at  large,  that 
is  annexed  to  the  person  of  the  lord,  and  transferable 
by  deed  from  one  owner  to  another. 

The  Perioeci,  who  lived  in  the  villages,  though  not 
slaves,  in  the  sense  that  they  were  deprived  of  their 
liberty,  were  denied  all  civil  and  political  rights,  were 
not  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office,  and  had  no  voice  in 
the  government.  They  were  permitted  to  rent  and  oc- 
cupy lands  and  tenements  for  which  they  paid  the  Spar- 
tan owner  a  fixed  tribute.  They  engaged  in  barter  and 
carried  on  trades,  and  whatever  primitive  manufactures 
were  customary  in  that  age,  and  produced  all  house- 
hold articles  and  utensils  for  daily  use,  as  the  Spartans 
deemed  it  beneath  their  dignity  to  engage  in  manual 
labor  of  any  kind.  They  looked  upon  war  and  military 
training  as  their  only  honorable  pursuit.  The  Perioeci 
were  also  required  to  render  military  service  at  all 
times,  and  fought  with  the  hoplitcs  or  heavy  armed 
troops. 

It  will  be  observed  that  under  the  system  of  political 
economy  which  prevailed  in  Lacedamon  in  the  age  of 
Lycurgus,  the  principal  resources  of  the  commonwealth 
were  derived  from  slave  labor,  which  furnished  the 
ruling  class  their  means  of  subsistence.  The  latter 
despised  labor,  and  devoted  themselves  exclusively  to 
athletic  exercises  and  military  training  and  discipHne. 


PHYSICAL   TRAINING 


8g 


As  has  been  observed,  the  Spartans,  in  the  time  of  Ly- 
curgus, had  no  commerce.  Consequently  no  revenues 
were  derived  from  that  source.  They  dwelt  inland, 
and  although  the  western  and  southern  boundaries  of 
Laconia,  the  state  in  which  they  settled,  had  an  exten- 
sive sea  coast,  the  Lacedamonian  commonwealth  in  that 
early  day,  was  established  in  the  valley  of  the  Eurotas, 
**  the  lovely  hollow  Lacedamon,"  in  the  heart  of  La- 
conia. Consequently  they  had  no  ships  and  no  navv, 
and  their  military  operations  were  conducted  exclusively 
^*^^by  the  army. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Spartans  were  not  a  com- 
mercial people,  and  were  without  means  of  securing  a 
public  revenue  with  which  to  pay  for  the  services  of  its 
soldiers,  public  policy  required  that  every  man  should 
become  a  soldier  trained  to  that  end,  and  that  they 
should  dwell  together,  as  in  a  camp,  eating  daily  at  a 
common  table,  or  public  mess.  Their  entire  time  was 
spent  in  training  for  war,  in  their  public  exercises,  and 
religious  games.  Consequently,  every  citizen  was  a 
powerful  athlete,  expert  and  dexterous  in  the  use  of 
arms,  the  bow  and  arrow,  the  sword  and  the  spear 
which  constituted  the  principal  weapons  employed  in 
that  remote  age.  Consequently,  they  excelled  in  phys- 
ical strength.  Their  battles  were  an  aggregation  of 
duels,  in  which  the  advantage  was  with  the  man  who 
possessed  the  maximum  of  physical  endurance,  and  skill 
and  dexterity  in  the  use  of  arms. 

Such  was  the  environment  and  state  of  society  in 
Lacedamon  in  the  age  of  Lycurgus.  They  sought 
peace  with  the  sword,  and  retained  their  liberties  and 
independence  by  reason  of  their  success  in  war. 

While  the  sword,  in  that  turbulent  age,  was  the  only 
arbiter  and  afforded  the  only  method  whereby  to  secure 
peace  and  domestic  tranquillity,  it  was  doubtless  true 
that  Lycurgus  did  not  advocate  foreign  conquests,  and 
his  laws  and  ordinances  seem  to  preclude  the  notion  that 


go 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


he  believed  in  encroaching  on  the  territories  of  neigh- 
boring states,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  enlarging  the 
boundaries    of   his    own   dominions,   unless    it   became 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  defense  of  the  state.     In 
order  to  prevent  campaigns  for  selfish  aggrandizement, 
and   to   destroy   every   incentive   to   military   ambition 
for  purposes  of  conquest,  Lycurgus  sought  to  abolish 
the  use  of  money.     He  doubtless  believed  that  the  love 
of  money,  and  the  desire  for  riches,  was  the  root  from 
which  springs  military  ambition,  and  wars  of  conquest, 
which  may  be  doubtless  considered  the  root  of  all  evil. 
This  presumption  is  justified  by  the  fact,  that  just 
as  soon  as  the  cupidity  of  the  Spartans  was  aroused 
by  the  spoils  of  war,  and  the  loot  of  foreign  conquest, 
the  laws  of  Lycurgus  lost  their  force.     Lysander,  as 
the   result   of  his   conquests   and   successful   aUiances, 
acquired  Persian  gold.     The  gold  and  silver  and  the 
spoils  of  war  which  he  brought  home  to  Sparta  fired 
the  ambition  of  his  countrymen  and  taught  them  to 
esteem  wealth  and  luxury,  and  to  advocate  war,  for 
war's  sake ;   not  merely  to  protect  the  state  from  inva- 
sion, but  to  advocate  wars  to  invade  other  states  for  the 
sake  of  plunder,  and  to  undertake  foreign  conquests, 
m  order  that,  as  a  people,  they  might  become  rich,  and 
feared  as  a  military  power. 

But  the  laws  and  institutions  which  Lycurgus  framed 
for  the  Lacedamonians  were  born  of  their  necessities 
and  peculiar  environment.  The  conquered  people 
among  whom  they  dwelt  were  their  kinsmen,  possessed 
of  almost  equal  courage  and  military  training.  The 
conditions  which  existed  when  the  Achfean-Dorian  in- 
vaders established  themselves  in  the  Peloponnesus, 
known  as  the  "  Return  of  the  Heraclidffi,"  rendered  it 
necessary  for  them  to  live  constantly  with  arms  in  their 
hands.  The  Heraclidae  considered  themselves  a  superior 
branch  of  the  Hellenic  race,  and  were  not  content  to 
permit  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  they  had  prac- 


ANAECHY   AND    CONFUSION 


91 


tically  conquered,  to  share  with  them  civil  and  political 
rights. 

Under  these  conditions  many  proud  families  of  Hel- 
lenic blood,  unable  to  endure  the  disgrace  and  humilia- 
tion incident  upon  their  displacement,  fled  from  the 
place  of  their  nativity,  and  took  up  their  abodes  else- 
where. Many  claiming  to  be  Achaean  settled,  as  has 
been  shown,  on  the  southern  shores  of  the  Corinthian 
gulf,  drove  out  the  lonians,  and  held  the  country  called 
Achaia,  which  name  it  has  retained  for  centuries. 

The  conquest  of  the  people  in  the  valley  of  the  Eu- 
rotas,  however,  was  gradual  and  the  Helots  were  not 
finally  reduced  to  slavery  till  the  reign  of  Sous,  grand- 
father of  Aristodemus,  and  great-grandfather  of  Ly- 
curgus. Even  after  they  lost  their  independence,  they 
continued  to  revolt  and  were  not  subjugated  till  the 
end  of  the  third  Messenian  war,  455  B.  C. 

In  the  days  of  Lycurgus,  before  his  laws  were  estab- 
lished, constant  strife  and  turbulence  still  continued  to 
prevail  in  Sparta,  to  a  degree  bordering  on  anarchy, 
and  murders  and  assassinations  were  frequent  in  the 
streets  of  Lacedamon  and  adjacent  villages.  The  Spar- 
tan kings  indulged  in  tyranny  and  oppression,  as  over- 
lords of  the  territory  in  which  they  ruled,  and  thereby 
engendered  increased  malignity  and  hatred  against  the 
ruling  classes.  Plutarch  says,  in  this  connection,  that 
anarchy  and  confusion  long  prevailed  causing  among 
other  calamities  the  death  of  Eunomus,  the  father  of 
Lycurgus,  who  was  stabbed  with  a  butcher  knife  in  an 
attempt  to  quell  a  riot  in  the  streets  of  Sparta. 

Polydectus,  the  elder  brother  of  Lycurgus,  then  be- 
came king.  Upon  his  death,  Lycurgus,  being  in  the 
direct  line  of  succession,  ruled  until  the  birth  of  a  pos- 
thumous son  of  Polydectus.  Then,  with  commendable 
respect  and  reverence  for  law,  Lycurgus  placed  his  in- 
fant nephew  on  the  throne  and  called  him  Charilaus, 
the  name  indicating  the  joy  or  dearly  beloved  of  the 


92 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


PRIMITIVE   INSTITUTIONS 


93 


people.     His  love  of  justice,  in  performing  this  act,  is 
further  shown   by   the   fact   that   the  queen   dowager, 
mother  of  Charilaue,  or  Leobotus,  according  to  He- 
rodotus, made  overtures  to  Lycurgus,  and  besought  him 
to  marry  her,  and  share  the  throne,  promising  to  de- 
stroy her  posthumous  son,  if  he  would  consent  to  her 
proposal.     He  promised  to  do  as  she  wished,  but  fear- 
ing that  she  would  promptly  carry  out  her  threat,  he 
assured  her  that  he  himself  would  undertake  to  remove 
the  infant.     But  when  the  babe  was  brought  to  him,  he 
gathered    the    people   in   the   Agora,    and   with    great 
solemnity  he  there  presented  his  infant  nephew,  and  de- 
clared him  to  be  lawful  sovereign  of  Sparta,  after  which 
he  acted  as   regent.     Fierce  disputes   and  dissensions 
having  arisen  as  to  the  line  of  succession,  Lycurgus,  in 
order  to  fit  himself  to  rule  over  his  turbulent  subjects, 
went  into  voluntary  exile  and  entered  upon  his  extensive 
travels  about  the  world,  to  study  the  laws  and  institu- 
tions of  the  countries  he  visited,  that  he  might  be  able 
to  devise  a  code  for  the  government  of  Sparta,  under 
which  peace  might  be  established  and  harmony  and  con- 
cord restored  to  his  distracted  countrv.     It  is  said  that 
during  his  travels,  which  extended  over  a  period  of  ten 
years,  Lycurgus  visited  all  the  countries  of  the  known 
world,    including   Asia    Minor,    Crete,    Egypt,    India, 
Africa  and  Spain.    While  sojourning  in  Asia  Minor,  it 
is  said,  he  became  familiar  with  the  works  of  Homer. 

On  his  return  to  Sparta  he  was  made  welcome  by  the 
people,  who  looked  to  him  not  only  as  their  lawful  sov- 
ereign but  as  their  political  saviour,  fitted  by  study  and 
experience  to  frame  wise  and  humane  laws  and  restore 
peace  and  prosperity  to  the  commonwealth.  Condi- 
tions were  desperate,  indeed,  and  anarchy  and  political 
ruin  was  imminent. 

Plutarch  says  that  Lycurgus  determined  to  institute 
radical  political  reforms  and  to  change  the  whole  face 
of  the  commonwealth,  "  for  what,"  he  observes,  "  could 


a  few  particular  laws,  and  a  partial  alteration  avail. 
He  must  act  as  wise  physicians  do  in  the  case  of  one 
who  labors  under  a  complication  of  diseases,  by  force 
of  medicines  reduce  and  exhaust  liim,  change  his  whole 
temperament,  and  then  set  him  upon  a  totally  new 
regime  of  diet." 

The  form  of  government  which  obtained  in  Sparta 
prior  to  the  time  of  Lycurgus  seems  to  have  been  based 
on  the  primitive  institutions  which  prevailed  among  the 
Greeks  in  the  heroic  age  and  which  are  referred  to  in 
Homer.  Under  these  institutions  the  commonwealth  in- 
cluded a  king,  a  council  of  elders  or  chiefs,  who  acted 
as  his  advisers,  and  the  people.  The  latter,  when  called 
upon  to  participate  in  the  affairs  of  State,  were  as- 
sembled in  the  agora,  or  the  market  place  in  the  city  or 
village,  and  were  permitted  to  vote  on  whatever  propo- 
sition the  king  and  council  of  elders  or  chiefs  chose  to 
submit  to  them.  They  were  not,  as  a  rule,  allowed  to 
debate  or  discuss  the  measure  under  advisement.  All 
deliberations  concerning  such  matters  were  conducted 
by  the  king  and  his  elders  or  advisers.  The  political 
authority  exercised  by  the  citizens  gathered  in  the 
agora  was  confined  to  the  simple  right  to  vote,  yea  or 
nay,  on  the  proposition  which  the  king  and  his  council 
of  elders  saw  fit  to  submit. 

Under  the  laws  devised  by  Lycurgus  we  are  taught 
that  the  sovereignty  of  the  state  was  divided  between 
the  kings  —  this  office  in  Sparta  being  represented  by 
dual  sovereigns  —  the  council  of  elders,  and  the  assem- 
bly, or  body  of  citizens  who  composed  the  state.  This 
council  of  elders  was  designated  in  the  time  of  Lycur- 
gus as  the  Senate,  though  some  authorities  claim  that 
the  Senate  was  not  devised  till  after  the  time  of  Lycur- 
gus. The  Senate  consisted  of  thirty  members,  one 
from  each  of  the  thirty  tribes,  and  no  person  was  eligible 
until  he  attained  the  age  of  sixty  years.  The  senators 
were  elected  by  the  people  and  held  office  for  life.    Th§ 


94 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


III 


two  Spartan  kings  were  members  of  the  Senate,  so  that 
as  matter  of  fact,  there  were  twenty-eight  senators,  and 
two  kings,  each  having  an  equal  vote.  The  Senate  was 
a  sort  of  cabinet  or  advisory  body  to  the  kings ;  they 
also  originated  all  legislation  which  it  was  designed  to 
submit  to  the  assembly  for  approval  or  disapproval. 
Prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  Ephori,  or  body  of 
^ve  Ephors,  the  Senate  seems  to  have  exercised  judicial 
functions  from  whose  decision,  in  certain  cases,  an  ap- 
peal lay  to  the  assembly.  When  the  office  of  Ephor 
was  established,  that  body  exercised  judicial  as  well  as 
administrative  functions. 

The  assembly,  also  known  as  the  Appella,  consisted 
of  free  citizens,  who  had  attained  the  age  of  thirty 
years.  The  Perioeci  and  the  Helots  were  not  eligible 
to  citizenship.  The  assembly,  by  a  majority  vote,  filled 
all  vacancies  in  the  Senate,  except  the  kings,  who  ruled 
by  hereditary  right.  They  met  once  a  month,  or 
oftener  if  necessity  required. 

The  Court  of  Ephors,  which  came  into  existence  per- 
haps half  a  century  after  the  time  of  Lycurgus,  exer- 
cised in  reality  the  chief  powers  of  government.  They 
were  a  popular  body,  elected  annually  by  the  people. 
It  is  believed  that  the  kings  and  Senate  usurped  pow- 
ers which  the  popular  assembly  sought  to  exercise.  To 
cure  this  evil,  the  Ephors  were  chosen  by  the  people, 
with  authority  to  check  these  encroachments.  In  time 
the  Ephors  became  a  sort  of  executive  committee  to 
carry  out  the  will  of  the  people  in  all  things,  and  in  fact 
ruled  Sparta  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Peloponnesian  war. 

The  chief  fame  of  Lycurgus,  however,  arose  from 
the  arduous  discipline  and  military  training  to  which 
every  member  of  the  state  was  subjected  under  his  or- 
dinances ;  and  so  strict  was  this  discipline  and  so  severe 
the  training,  as  Mr.  Grote  observes,  that  Lycurgus 
was  "  the  founder  of  a  warlike  brotherhood  rather  than 
the  lawgiver  of  a  political  community." 


NO    WRITTEN    LAWS 


9S 


But  the  circumstances  in  which  the  Spartans  were 
placed,  and  the  plight  in  which  they  found  themselves, 
as  a  band  of  invaders,  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile,  half- 
conquered,  half-civilized  people  of  their  blood  and  line- 
age, and  possessed  of  courage  equal  to  their  own, 
required  that  they  should  live  as  an  armed  brother- 
hood in  order  to  retain  their  sovereignty  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Eurotas,  and  the  regions  they  had  con- 
quered or  were  seeking  to  conquer,  and  reduce  to  sub- 
jection. 

Perhaps  one  reason  why  we  do  not  know  more  with 
regard  to  the  details  of  the  Rhetra  of  Lycurgus,  arises 
from  the  fact  that  he  expressly  forbade  that  his  ordi- 
nances should  be  reduced  to  writing,  and  a  law  was 
passed  to  that  effect.  As  to  the  details  of  the  discipline 
to  which  his  people  were  subject,  and  their  training  in 
the  art  of  war,  he  preferred  that  it  should  be  instilled  in 
the  memory  by  constant  practice,  and  that  none  should 
communicate  his  ordinances  and  teachings  in  that  re- 
gard, to  their  enemies.  For  this  reason,  Plutarch  says, 
a  law  was  passed  that  their  campaigns  with  the  same 
enemy  should  be  as  short  and  infrequent  as  possible, 
lest  by  constant  observation,  their  adversaries  might  be 
instructed  in  their  methods  of  warfare,  and  adopt  them 
in  their  own  defense.  This  idea,  however,  is  not  jus- 
tified by  the  facts  as  shown  by  the  three  long  and  ardu- 
ous Messenian  wars,  the  last  of  which  was  not  brought 
to  a  close  till  B.  C.  455.  This  war  became  so  formid- 
able that  Sparta,  at  one  time,  through  the  influence  of 
the  great  admiral,  Cimon,  sought  the  assistance  of  their 
rivals,  the  Athenians.  However,  we  are  told  that  Age- 
silaus  was  much  blamed  for  a  violation  of  this  ordi- 
nance, on  account  of  his  continual  incursions  into 
Boeotia,  by  which,  it  was  argued,  he  made  the  Thebans 
a  match  for  the  Lacedamonians.  When  Agesilaus  was 
wounded  in  one  of  these  campaigns,  he  was  reminded 
by  Antalcides  that  "  he  was  very  well  paid  for  taking 


96 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


such  pains  to  make  the  Thebans  good  soldiers,  whether 
they  would  or  no." 

(""  It  was  the  law,  also,  that  the  Spartan  must  never 
turn  his  back  to  the  enemy.  If  he  was  unable  to  con- 
j  quer,  he  must  die,  but  must  never  quit  the  field.  The 
brief  maxim  of  the  soldier  was  "  conquer  or  die." 
Those  who  thus  died,  they  believed,  were  glorified.  In 
obedience  to  this  sacred  rhetra,  Leonidas  at  Ther- 
mopylae cheerfully  yielded  his  life,  although  he  knew 
that  victory  was  absolutely  impossible.  With  his  three 
hundred  Spartans  and  seven  hundred  Thespians,  as- 
sailed by  an  enemy,  numbering  more  than  two  millions, 
in  force  at  both  ends  of  the  pass,  victory  for  the  Spar- 
tan king  was  impossible.  The  law  said,  if  he  could 
not  conquer,  he  must  die,  and  in  obedience  to  that  law 
he  gave  his  life.  Posterity  may  still  read  the  epitaph 
to  the  Spartans  at  Thermopylae: 

"Tell  the  Spartans,  at  their  bidding, 
Stranger,  here  in  death  we  lie." 

The  conspicuous  exception  to  this  rule  of  discipline 
occurred  fifty-five  years  after  Thermopylae,  in  the 
seventh  year  of  the  Peloponnesian  war  (B.  C.  425), 
when  the  flower  of  the  Spartan  army  surrendered  them- 
selves to  the  Athenians,  on  the  island  of  Sphacteria,  in 
the  Bay  of  Pylos,  now  Navarino. 

In  the  time  of  Lycurgus,  however,  foreign  conquests 
were  not  contemplated  and  military  operations  seemed 
to  be  confined  to  holding  the  country,  the  Lacedamo- 
nians,  or  the  Achaean-Dorians,  had  conquered.  We  are 
also  informed  that  when  a  Spartan  army  took  the  field, 
their  severe  training  was,  in  a  measure,  relaxed,  their 
commissary  arrangements  gave  them  better  food,  and 
their  disciphne  was  in  many  ways  less  strict.  In  this 
connection  Lycurgus  observes  that  they  were  the  only 
people  in  the  world  to  whom  war  gave  repose. 

Before  engaging  in  battle,  the  king  offered  sacrifices 


MIUTAEY    CUSTOMS 


97 


to  the  Muses.  The  men  were  permitted  to  curl  and 
adorn  their  long  hair,  in  which  they  took  great  pride. 
They  were  allowed  also  to  have  costly  arms  and  fine 
clothes.  A  goat  was  usually  sacrificed.  Then  the  sol- 
diers placed  garlands  on  their  heads.  The  pipers,  on 
their  flutes,  played  the  hymn  sacred  to  Castor.  The 
king,  with  a  chosen  body  guard  of  one  hundred,  accom- 
panied by  the  Spartan,  if  there  was  one  who  had  been 
crowned  victor  at  the  Olympic  games,  sang  the  sacred 
paean,  in  which  tlie  troops  joined,  and  marching  to  the 
music  of  their  flutes,  precipitated  themselves  upon  the 
enemy.  They  were  taught  that  nothing  could  be  more 
honorable  than  war,  or  more  sacred  than  victory,  and 

ithat  death  on  the  field  of  battle  meant  an  immediate 
entrance  into  glory.  They  might  indeed  sup  with  Pluto 
and  enter  Tartarus,  but  as  they  fell  in  battle  their  deeds 
were  glorified. 

Some  authorities  claim  that  Lycurgus  was  a  military 
man,  as  well  as  a  legislator,  and  an  experienced  cavalry 
officer,  and  that  lie  first  designed  the  division  of  the 
horse,  in  troops  of  fifty,  in  a  square  body.  This,  how- 
ever, is  denied.  Others  assert  that  the  armistice  or  ces- 
sation of  hostilities  in  all  intestine  wars  throughout 
Hellas,  during  the  period  of  the  Olympic  games,  was 
suggested  and  adopted  by  Lycurgus,  but  this  assump- 
tion rests  wholly  in  conjecture. 

The  ideal  state,  as  conceived  by  Lycurgus,  and  the 
commonwealth  he  sought  to  establish,  was  one  in  which 
there  should  be  absolute  equality  among  all  citizens,  not 
only  as  to  their  political  rights,  but  as  to  their  social 
position,  their  wealth  and  earthly  possessions.  Home 
influences  and  home  comforts  there  were  none.  Ease 
and  luxury  were  forbidden,  because  Lycurgus  believed 
that  relaxation  made  men  effeminate  and  unfit  to  en- 
gage in  military  exercises  and  the  pursuits  of  war.  The 
community  ate  in  public,  at  mess  tables.  Private  ban- 
quets and  feasts  were  discouraged,  as  far  as  possible, 


98 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 


ll* 


because  such  indulgences,  it  was  believed,  had  a  tend- 
ency to  render  men  physically  unfit  to  discharge  their 
duties  to  the  state. 

The  law  of  marriage  among  the  Lacedamonians 
was  unique,  as  well  as  their  regulations  as  to  the 
birth,  training  and  education  of  children.  Lycurgus 
taught  that  the  children  belonged  not  to  the  parents, 
but  to  the  state.  While  all  licentious  disorders  were 
forbidden,  it  was  nevertheless  considered  honorable  for 
men,  in  the  language  of  Plutarch,  "  to  give  the  use  of 
their  wives  to  those  whom  they  should  think  fit,  that 
they  might  have  children  by  them ;  ridiculing  those  in 
whose  opinion  such  favors  are  so  unfit  for  participation, 
as  to  fight  and  shed  blood,  and  go  to  war  about  it. 
Lycurgus  allowed  a  man  who  was  advanced  in  years, 
and  had  a  young  wife,  to  recommend  some  virtuous 
young  man  that  she  might  have  a  child  by  him,  who 
might  inherit  the  good  qualities  of  the  father,  and  be 
a  son  to  himself.  On  the  other  hand,  an  honest  man 
who  had  love  for  a  married  woman  upon  account  of  her 
modesty,  and  the  well-favoredness  of  her  children, 
might,  without  formality,  beg  her  company  of  her  hus- 
band, that  he  might  raise,  as  it  were,  from  this  plot  of 
good  ground,  worthy  and  well-allied  children  for  him- 
self." The  children  being  assets  of  the  state,  Lycur- 
gus was  of  opinion  that  they  should  not  be  begotten  by 
the  first  comers,  but  by  the  best  men  that  could  be 
found.  He  regarded  as  absurd  and  inconsistent  the 
laws  of  other  countries,  where  people  were  so  solicitous 
for  their  dogs  and  horses,  as  to  exert  interest  and  pay 
money  to  procure  ^ne  breeding,  and  yet  kept  their 
wives  shut  up,  to  be  made  mothers  only  by  themselves, 
who  might  have  become  foolish,  infirm  or  diseased;  as 
if  it  were  not  apparent  that  children  of  a  bad  breed 
would  prove  their  bad  quahties,  first  upon  those  who 
kept  and  were  rearing  them,  and  well-born  children  in 
like  manner,  their  good  qualities. 


99 


To  the  end  that  the  female  population  might  become 
strong  and  vigorous  like  the  men,  they  were  obhgcd  to 
engage  in  similar  exercises,  that  they  might  become 
mothers  of  healthy  well-developed  children,  and  the 
better  able  to  endure  the  pains  of  childbirth.  In  order 
to  encourage  marriage,  we  are  told  by  Plutarch,  that 
the  maidens  performed  their  athletic  contests  in  a  nude 
state,  and  appeared  naked  also  in  the  dances  and  public 
processions.  It  was  further  decreed  that  any  youth 
who,  after  he  attained  a  certain  age,  remained  a  bach- 
elor, was  in  a  measure  disfranchised,  in  that  he  was 
forbidden  to  attend  the  dances  and  public  processions 
which  were  conducted  by  naked  youth  and  maidens. 

Under  these  regulations  the  family  was  merged  in  the 
state.     The  children,  as  has  been  observed,  did  not  be- 
long to  their  parents,  but  to  the  commonwealth.      A 
body  of  citizens  chosen  to  perform  that  duty  were  au- 
thorized to  inspect  all  children,  while  tender  infants,  to 
ascertain    their   physical    condition.      The    father   was 
obliged,  when  the  child  reached  a  certain  age,  to  bring 
it  before  these  inspectors.     If  the  child  was  perfectly 
formed  and  was  apparently  sound  and  healthy,  it  was 
permitted  to  be  reared  and  trained  in  public  after  it 
Veached  the  age  of  seven  years.     Infants,  which  were 
apparently  sickly  or  deformed  or  physically  weak,  were 
not  allowed  to  grow  up,  as  the  idea  prevailed  that  they 
would  never  be  able  to  perform  military  service,  or  be- 
come useful  to  the  state.     After  they  had  attained  the 
age  of  seven,  they  were  classified  and  numbered  in  com- 
panies, and  became  subject  to  such  training  and  dis- 
cipline, as  was  deemed  necessary  to  make  them  fit  for 
war,  superior  in  physical  excellence  and  able  to  suffer 
every  hardship,  and  to  endure  pain  without  a  murmur. 
'  The  tests  they  were  put  to  sometimes  taxed  them  to  the 
jvery  verge  of  existence.     They  were  publicly  whipped, 
I  and  made  to  submit  to  bloody  flagellations,  and  passed 
I  the  ordeal  successfully,  only  when  they  suffered  the 


lOO 


MILITAHY   ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


pain  in  absolute  silence.  So  severe  were  these  beatings 
and  scourgings  that  instances  are  given  where  death 
ensued,  the  victim  choosing  to  die,  rather  than  utter  a 
cry  of  pain.  Those  unable  to  endure  the  severe  course 
of  training  were  adjudged  unfit  for  citizenship.  They 
were  made  to  suffer  hunger  and  thirst  also,  that  they 
might  be  the  better  able  to  undergo  such  hardships  and 
experiences  which  are  incidental  to  the  life  of  the  soldier 
in  the  field. 

The  moral  teachings  in  the  Spartan  Commonwealth 
were  also  tinctured  with  the  overweening  desire  to  make 
men  expert  in  war  and  masters  of  strategy.  Therefore, 
if  theft  was  committed,  the  thief  was  never  punished, 
unless  he  conducted  himself  so  carelessly  and  unskill- 
fully  that  his  crime  was  detected.  Then  severe  punish- 
ment was  inflicted  upon  the  culprit,  not  as  a  penalty 
for  the  crime  of  larceny,  but  on  account  of  the  stupid 
and  slovenly  manner  in  which  the  larceny  had  been  ac- 
complished, because,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  one  who  was 
not  skillful  enough  to  successfully  conceal  crime,  it 
was  believed,  would  not  be  able  to  deceive  the  enemy 
in  war,  or  to  circumvent  his  movements  by  means  of 
strategy. 

In  order  to  abolish,  in  the  state,  as  far  as  possible 
rank  and  station,  based  on  the  possession  of  wealth  or 
property,  Lycurgus  tried  to  abolish  the  use  of  money. 
To  that  end  the  precious  metals  were  not  coined,  but 
money  was  made  of  iron,  so  heavy  and  unwieldly  as  to 
render  it  practically  unfit  for  use  as  a  circulating 
medium.  He  also  caused  the  citizens  to  be  numbered, 
and  then  divided  the  lands  within  the  commonwealth, 
as  nearly  as  possible  into  as  many  lots  or  parcels  as 
there  were  citizens,  and  to  each  was  alloted  his  aliquot 
part.  The  number  of  citizens  in  Sparta,  at  that  time, 
we  are  told,  amounted  in  the  aggregate  to  nine  thou- 
sand persons,  entitled  to  full  political  and  civil  rights, 
and  accordingly,  in  order  to  insure  equality,  the  lands 


DISTRIBUTION    OP    PROPERTY 


lOI 


were  divided  into  nine  thousand  parcels  and  distributed 
among  them,  share  and  share  alike.  It  was  believed 
that  such  equal  distribution  of  wealth  would  produce 
tranquillity  and  contentment  in  the  state,  and  prac- 
tically abolish  envy  and  jealousy,  which  might  arise  in 
a  community  in  which  there  were  both  rich  and  poor. 
Lycurgus  designed  a  commonwealth  in  which  the  citi- 
zens should  be  neither  rich  nor  poor,  and  in  which  all 
might  stand  on  a  plane  of  political  and  social  equality. 
This  was  his  dream.  The  distribution  of  lands  equally 
among  all  citizens  has  been  denied  by  some  authorities, 
who  claim  that  no  such  distribution  was  made  in  the 
time  of  Lycurgus.  It  seems  to  be  universally  conceded, 
however,  that  the  objective  point  which  Lycurgus 
sought  to  attain  was  to  make  every  citizen  equal  before 
the  law,  and  as  far  as  possible,  equal  as  to  his  posses- 
sions and  property  qualifications.  In  this  view,  the 
motto,  "  Liberty,  Equality,  Fraternity,"  adopted  dur- 
ing the  French  revolution,  would  have  been  fitting  and 
appropriate  in  the  commonwealth  of  Sparta  in  the 
middle  of  the  ninth  century,  B.  C. 

A  state  in  which  absolute  equality  and  perfect  uni- 
formity in  all  things  exists,  is  a  Utopian  dream,  impos- 
sible of  realization  in  this  imperfect  world.  While  it 
may  be  true,  in  one  sense,  that  all  men  are  born  polit- 
ically equal,  it  is  true  also  that  absolute  equality  as  to 
intelligence,  temperament,  mental  endowment  and  abil- 
ity, does  not  exist;  never  did,  and  never  can  exist.  It 
has  pleased  the  supreme  governor  of  the  universe  to 
bestow  upon  his  creatures,  widely  different  dispositions, 
inclinations,  temperaments  and  abilities.  There  is  as 
much  diversity  in  the  measure  of  intelligence  among 
mankind  as  there  are  colors  in  the  landscape,  or  tints 
in  the  clouds  in  a  mountain  sunset.  It  is  manifest  that 
an  all  wise  creator  never  intended  that  a  rule  of  uni- 
formity should  exist  amongi  men,  as  to  their  respective 
abilities  and  endowments.     Diversity,  not  uniformity, 


102 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF   GREECE 


is  the  law  of  nature,  and  prevails  in  every  department 
of  the  physical  and  the  intellectual  world.  Men  were 
not  made  mentally  and  physically  equal,  because  diver- 
sity and  variety  is  the  rule  of  life  and  the  law  of  crea- 
tion. This  principle  is  embodied  in  the  argument  of 
St.  Paul,  when  he  says :  *'  There  are  also  celestial  bod- 
ies and  bodies  terrestrial.  .  .  .  There  is  one  glory  of 
the  sun,  another  glory  of  the  moon,  and  another  glory 
of  the  stars ;  for  one  star  differeth  from  another  star 
in  glory."  There  is  no  uniformity  in  the  landscape, 
in  the  climate,  the  sea;  in  the  firmament  or  in  the 
mountains  and  valleys  of  this  beautiful  planet  we 
inhabit,  but  a  delightful  and  charming  variety  always 
interesting  and  pleasing  to  man,  for  whose  enjoyment 
all  things  were  created. 

It  is  true  that  the  government  and  institutions  estab- 
lished by  Lycurgus  remained  intact  for  nearly  ^ve  cen- 
turies, but  this  continuity  and  political  integrity  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Sparta,  was  not  due  to  the  effort  to 
establish  political  and  social  equality  among  its  citizens, 
but  to  the  environment  of  the  Lacedamonians,  and  their 
position  in  the  Peloponnese,  which  made  it  necessary  for 
them  to  continue  constantly  on  a  war  footing  to  main- 
tain their  supremacy  among  hostile  neighbors  in  Mes- 
senia,  in  Arcadia,  in  Argos,  in  Elis,  in  Argolis,  and  else- 
where in  the  peninsula,  and  to  subdue  revolts,  which  oc- 
casioned the  first,  second  and  third  Messenian  wars. 
The  latter  continued  till  455  B.  C.  Sparta,  however, 
was  engaged  in  war  almost  continuously  or  lending  aid 
to  its  allies,  till  the  beginning  of  the  Peloponnesian  war, 
B.  C.  431,  which  struggle  occupied  Sparta  and  her 
allies  for  a  period  of  twenty-seven  years. 

The  military  brotherhood  established  by  Lycurgus 
owed  its  prolonged  existence  mainly  to  the  necessities 
occasioned  by  its  situation  among  warring  neighbors, 
rather  than  to  any  idea  of  social  or  political  equality, 
although  it  may  be  conceded  that  many  of  the  rules  and 


MILITARY    BROTHERHOOD 


103 


ordinances  introduced  by  Lycurgus  were  admirably 
adapted,  under  the  circumstances,  to  the  maintenance 
and  unity  of  the  military  brotherhood,  known  also  as 
the  Spartan  Commonwealth. 


COUNCIL,    HOW    COMPOSED 


105 


CHAPTER    VII 

THE    AMPHICTYONIC    COUNCIL  — ITS    INFLUENCE 
AMONG   THE   HELLENESE  — LACK   OF   POLIT- 
ICAL UNITY  THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  DOWN- 
FALL   OF    GREECE  — THE    RELIGION 
OF  THE  GREEKS,  THEIR  GAMES 
AND    FESTIVALS 

I  HE  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  Hellenese  to  ac- 
quire universal  supremacy,  was  the  absence 
among  them  of  political  unity.  The  bond 
which  preserved  and  distinguished  their 
national  character  rested  on  sentiment  alone. 
This  bond  existed  by  reason  of  kinship  and  propin- 
quity of  blood,  community  of  religion  and  patriotic 
pride,  derived  from  exclusive  participation  in  their  na- 
tional games  and  religious  festivals,  from  which  all 
were  excluded  except  those  of  Hellenic  blood.  But 
these  sentimental  considerations  were  wholly  insufficient, 
as  the  sequel  shows,  to  secure  that  political  unity,  which 
is  absolutely  essential  to  establish  and  preserve  a  nation. 
Greece  was  exhausted  by  intestine  wars  and  civil  com- 
motions, resulting  from  envy  and  jealousy,  and  history 
affords  no  more  striking  example  of  the  truth  of 
the  maxim  frequently  exemplified,  "  united  we  stand, 
divided  we  fall,"  which  is  also  forcibly  expressed  by 
the  divine  teacher  when  he  said,  "  a  house  divided 
against  itself  cannot  stand." 

The  Amphictyonic  Council  was  of  great  antiquity, 
and  was  the  only  national  assemblage  or  Congress,  of  a 
permanent  character  known  to  the  Greeks.  It  was  sup- 
posed to  have  been  founded  by  Amphictyon,  the  son  of 
Deucalion,  and  brother  of  Hellen,  the  common  ancestor 

104 


1 


1 


of  the  race.  It  exercised  no  political  functions  or 
powers.  Its  duties  were  confined  to  the  execution  of  all 
decrees  agreed  upon  among  the  states,  or  the  Hellenic 
tribes,  and  the  care  of  the  temples,  where  the  gods  were 
worshipped  and  the  oracles  consulted,  and  supervision 
over  the  national  religious  games  and  festivals  of  the 
Hellenese.  It  succeeded  the  many  religious  associations 
or  congregations,  which  had  previously  existed  for  the 
same  purpose,  who  were  accustomed  to  meet  at  fixed 
times  to  offer  sacrifices  to  the  god  of  some  common 
temple.  When  the  first  Amphictyonic  Council  was 
chosen,  the  Hellenese  were  divided  into  twelve  tribes, 
which  comprised  the  independent  cities  and  states  of 
Greece,  including  the  Thessalians,  Bcotians,  Dorians, 
lonians,  Perrhsebians,  Magnesians,  Locrians,  ^nianians, 
Achaeans  of  Phthiotis  in  Thessaly,  Malians,  Phocians 
and  Dolopians.  The  council  was  composed  of  twenty- 
four  deputies,  two  sent  by  each  state  or  tribe.  It  met 
regularly  twice  a  year,  in  the  spring  at  Delphi  in 
Phocis,  in  the  temple  of  Apollo ;  in  the  autumn  at  the 
village  of  Athela,  near  Pyla?,  or  Thermopylae,  in  the 
temple  of  Demeter  (known  to  the  Romans  as  Ceres). 
There  was  a  temple  also  dedicated  to  Apollo  on  the 
island  of  Delos,  the  religious  metropolis  of  the  Cyclades, 
where  sacred  rites  were  also  celebrated. 

Every  member  of  the  council,  when  elected,  was 
obliged  to  take  what  was  known  as  the  Amphictyonic 
oath  by  which  he  became  obligated  as  a  member,  as 
follows :  "  We  will  not  destroy  any  Amphictyonic  town, 
nor  cut  it  off  from  running  water,  in  war  or  in  peace; 
if  any  one  shall  do  so,  we  will  march  against  him  and 
destroy  his  city.  If  any  one  shall  plunder  the  property 
of  the  god,  or  shall  be  cognizant  thereof,  or  shall  take 
treacherous  counsel  against  the  things  of  his  temple  at 
Delphi,  we  will  punish  him  with  foot  and  hand  and  voice 
and  by  every  means  in  our  power." 

The  Amphictyonic  Council  conducted  the  first  Sacred 


io6 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


War  against  the  city  of  Cirrha  on  the  Corinthian  gulf, 
the  port  town  of  Crissa,  on  the  plain  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Parnassus,  on  which  stood  the  temple  of  Delphi. 
The  Cirrhaeans  were  guilty  of  the  crime  of  levying  ex- 
tortion against  those  who  came  to  worship  and  consult 
the  oracle  at  Delphi.  The  struggle  was  tedious  and 
protracted,  and  covered  a  period  of  ten  years.  The  war 
was  finally  concluded  under  the  leadership  of  Solon  who, 
it  is  said,  poisoned  the  waters  of  the  river  Plistus,  which 
,  flowed  through  the  city  into  the  gulf.  The  Amphicty- 
onic  Council  dedicated  the  spoils  taken  at  Cirrha,  in 
founding  the  sacred  Pythian  games,  which  were  period- 
ically celebrated  on  the  plain,  at  the  foot  of  Parnassus, 
and  acquired  celebrity  in  the  odes  of  Pindar.  The 
Phocians  were  involved  in  the  Second  Sacred  War, 
which  afforded  an  opportunity  to  Philip  of  Macedon, 
to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Greece.  He  claimed  to  be 
a  Greek,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Amphictyonic 
League,  which  he  subsequently  made  instrumental  in 
destroying  the  liberties  of  Greece. 

Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Cimon,  mentions  an  instance 
of  the  interference  of  the  Amphictyonic  Council  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Dolopians,  one  of  the  tribes  having  repre- 
sentation in  that  body,  and  who  at  that  time  were  es- 
tablished in  the  island  of  Scyros.  The  Dolopians  were 
pirates.  But  in  that  early  age,  Thucydides  says  the 
inhabitants  on  the  coast  and  islands  of  the  yEgean  seas 
had  recourse  to  piracy.  These  pirates,  he  says,  were 
commanded  by  powerful  chiefs,  who  took  this  means  of 
increasing  their  wealth,  and  providing  for  their  poorer 
followers,  for  in  that  age,  piracy  was  regarded  as  an 
honorable  occupation,  and  was  not  then  considered  dis- 
graceful. These  Dolopians  descended  on  a  party  of 
merchants  from  Thessaly  who  landed  on  the  island, 
and  not  only  despoiled  them  of  their  goods,  but  also 
confined  them  in  prison.  Imprisonment,  it  seems,  was 
not   customary.      The   Thessalians   escaped,    and    ap- 


DECREE    AGAINST    DOLOPIANS 


107 


pealed  for  redress  to  the  Amphictyonic  Council.  After 
hearing  the  evidence,  a  decree  was  issued  by  this  ecclesi- 
astical court  against  the  inhabitants  of  Scyros.  These 
people  held  the  decree  to  be  unjust,  because  it  was 
directed  generally  against  the  Dolopians  on  the  island, 
and  not  against  the  piratical  band  who  had  perpetrated 
the  outrage.  They,  however,  tried  to  force  the  pirates 
to  restore  to  the  Thessalians  what  they  had  taken,  and 
failing  in  this,  besought  Cimon,  the  great  Athenian  ad- 
miral, to  succor  them  from  the  penalties  of  the  decree, 
obtained  against  them  by  the  Thessalians.  The  Athe- 
nian took  the  town  which  the  pirates  had  occupied,  ex- 
pelled the  pirates,  and  afterwards  reduced  the  island  to 
possession. 

On  what  theory  the  Amphictyonic  Council  enter- 
tained jurisdiction  in  this  case  it  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand, unless  we  assume  that  as  both  the  Thessalians 
and  Dolopians  were  represented  in  the  Council,  the 
taking  of  the  goods  of  the  former  was  construed  as 
equivalent  to  destroying  "  an  Amphictyonic  town."  In 
that  case  the  Council  was  justified  in  making  its  de- 
cree against  the  Dolopian  pirates,  but  not  against  the 
Dolopians. 

There  is  another  theory,  however,  which  would  seem 
to  strengthen  the  belief  of  those  authorities  who  claim 
that  the  Dolopians  were  not  members  of  the  Amphicty- 
onic League.  As  the  Thessalians  were  members,  the 
League  could  make  war  on  the  Dolopians  for  seizing 
the  property  of  Thessalians.  This  conclusion,  how- 
ever, would  follow  whether  the  Dolopians  were  or  were 
not  represented  in  the  League. 

The  purpose  of  the  Amphictyonic  League,  however, 
was  not  to  secure  a  pohtical  union  which  bound  the 
tribes  into  a  nation,  in  the  sense  that  the  independent 
states  of  the  American  union  are  bound  together  poht- 
ically  into  an  indestructible  union  of  indestructible 
states,   by   the   adoption   of  its   written   constitution, 


io8 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


under  which  all  the  states  are  represented  in  a  national 
Congress,  consisting  of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. If  such  political  unity  had  been  devised 
for  the  protection  of  united  Greece,  the  history  of  the 
world  would  have  presented  an  entirely  different  story. 
But  Greece  was  never  united,  except  for  military  pur- 
poses, in  order  to  beat  back  the  Persian  invaders,  which 
threatened  to  reduce  the  Hellenese  to  slavery. 

The  Amphictyonic  Council  was  intended  essentially 
to  uphold  and  preserve  the  temples  and  public  worship, 
and  to  conduct  the  religious  games  and  festivals  among 
the  Greeks.  This  observation  leads  to  the  inquiry  as 
to  what  was  the  religion  of  this  remarkable  people. 

With  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  Hellas,  the  religions 
of  antiquity  sprang  from  fear,  and  were  enshrouded  in 
mystery.  Primitive  man,  and  civilized  man,  in  the  early 
ages,  based  his  conclusions  as  to  his  origin  and  destiny, 
on  what  he  saw  and  heard  in  the  physical  world  around 
him.  These  manifestations  revealed  to  his  mind  only 
some  hidden  power,  some  supernatural  force,  which  he 
was  unable  in  the  slightest  degree  to  understand,  or 
comprehend.  In  the  presence  of  the  earthquake,  ac- 
companied by  destruction  and  death,  man  understood 
his  weakness.  He  was  powerless  to  prevent  such  violent 
convulsions  of  nature,  and  knew  not  what  invisible 
power  controlled.  He  heard  the  peals  of  thunder  and 
saw  the  flash  and  fire  of  the  lightning.  He  stood  amazed 
at  the  power  of  the  winds,  which  caused  the  destructive 
billows  of  the  deep  to  swallow  up  the  frail  vessels,  which 
man  had  devised  to  creep  along  the  edge  of  the  winding 
shores  of  the  ocean.  He  was  constantly  amazed  and 
mystified  at  the  spectacle  of  death,  and  the  mysteries 
surrounding  his  own  birth.  What  force  was  back  of 
the  power  which  presided  over  the  affairs  of  men.? 
What  power  caused  them  to  be  bom,  and  suddenly 
caused  their  existence  to  cease?  Who  controlled  the 
winds  and  the  waves?     Who  filled  the  sea  with  great 


NATURAL    AND    REVEALED    RELIGION 


109 


monsters,  and  the  waste  places  of  the  earth  with  wild 
beasts  and  horrid  reptiles?  Who  established  seed  time 
and  harvest  and  caused  the  herb  and  the  tree  to  yield 
their  fruits  in  season?  Who  caused  the  sun  to  rule  by 
day  and  the  moon  and  stars  to  rule  by  night?  To 
primitive  man  all  was  mysterious  and  awe-inspiring. 
He  understood  only  his  own  weakness  and  helplessness. 
The  supernatural  powers  which  manifested  themselves 
in  the  works  of  nature  were  regarded  by  man  as  the 
deity;  as  God.  The  only  divine  attribute  which  man 
perceived,  as  revealed  to  him  by  the  phenomena  of  na- 
ture, was  force,  or  power.  When  the  storm  and  earth- 
quake threatened  destruction,  when  plague  disease  or 
famine  threatened  annihilation,  it  was  natural  for  man 
to  conclude  that  the  deity  was  angry,  and  that  he  mani- 
fested his  anger  in  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  various 
agencies,  which  threatened  man  with  destruction. 

It  was  natural,  therefore,  to  seek  to  avert  these 
calamities,  by  propitiating  the  divine  wrath  and  to  seek 
to  placate  the  deity.  To  accomplish  this,  sacrifices  were 
offered,  often  human  sacrifices,  presenting  religious 
spectacles  of  the  most  cruel  and  revolting  character. 

These  manifestations  of  nature,  inspired  in  the  hu- 
man breast  that  awe  and  fear,  the  desire  to  avert  which, 
is  termed  religion.  Unless  accompanied  by  revelation 
of  some  sort,  this  fear  is  designated  natural  religion,  as 
distinguished  from  revealed  religion.  Thus  the  inquir- 
ing mind  sought  revelation,  concerning  the  occult  mys- 
teries of  nature.  Revelation  as  to  human  destiny  must 
of  necessity  come  from  the  deity.  It  must  come  only 
through  inspired  human  agency  because  it  is  impossible 
to  establish  direct  physical  intercourse  between  God 
and  man. 

This  agency,  or  human  intermediary,  is  described  as 
a  priest  or  a  prophet,  a  seer  or  soothsayer,  a  magician 
or  spirit  raiser,  supposed  to  be  endowed  by  some  divine 
agency.    The  object  of  divination  has  been,  in  all  ages, 


n 


no 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


to  solve  the  mysteries  of  creation,  the  riddle  of  the 
universe,  and  the  destiny  of  man.  ' 

These  observations  apply  to  all  ancient  religions. 
The  Israelites,  after  their  flight  from  Egypt,  received 
their  laws  direct  from  Jehovah,  through  their  prophet 
and  lawgiver  Moses,  the  supposed  author  of  the  im- 
mortal pentateuch,  who  was  commanded  to  speak  to  the 
people,  and  declare  to  them  the  divine  will,  as  it  was 
revealed  to  him  directly  by  Jehovah,  the  invisible  and 
ever  living  God.  , 

But  the  usual  mode  of  revelation  or  communication 
by  God  to  man  was  through  the  agency  of  dreams  and 
visions,  or  portents  and  strange  voices  from  the  spirit 
world. 

Thus  was  established  among  men  the  institution  of 
the  priesthood.  Monotheism  was  taught  among  the 
Israelites  and  by  the  IMagi  of  Persia.  The  other  tribes 
and  nations  of  the  world  were  taught  polytheism.  The 
religion  of  the  Greeks  was  polytheism.  But  the  idea  of 
sacrifice  was  common  to  all  religions.  In  many  in- 
stances these  offerings  included  human  sacrifices.  Even 
Abraham  was  willing  to  offer  his  son  Isaac  on  the  altar 
of  sacrifice  to  propitiate  an  offended  god.  This  idea 
of  sacrifice  was  due  to  a  sort  of  general  belief,  that 
conceived  somehow  that  the  deity  was  a  cruel  and  re- 
vengeful spirit,  whose  anger  when  manifested  by  some 
dreadful  calamity  must  be  appeased.  The  basic  prin- 
ciple of  the  ancient  religions,  therefore,  seemed  to  be 
fear.  Men  worshipped  rather  to  avert  evil  than  pro- 
cure good. 

The  Greeks,  however,  were  the  most  intellectual 
people  of  antiquity.  It  is  true  they  sought  divine 
guidance,  through  oracles,  and  through  portents  and 
auguries  revealed  by  the  flight  of  birds,  or  the  smoking 
entrails  of  animals  slain  by  the  priest  or  soothsayer, 
or  by  the  commander  of  an  army  before  engaging  in 
battle.    The  pantheism  or  theogony  of  the  Greeks  was 


GODS    AND    HEROES 


III 


conceived  in  poetry.  The  divine  attributes,  according 
to  their  ideas,  seemed  to  be  physical  strength  and  skill 
in  arms,  to  enable  man  to  overcome  his  enemies  and  win 
renown  in  martial  deeds,  rather  than  the  qualities  of 
the  heart  evidenced  by  mercy  and  love  and  peace.  But 
how  could  there  be  love  and  peace  in  an  age  when  war 
was  the  normal  condition  and  state  of  society.  All 
the  refinements  of  art,  sculpture,  painting,  poetry  and 
music  were  employed  to  celebrate  the  power  and  maj- 
esty of  their  many  deities.  To  the  Greek  mind,  as  has 
been  aptly  said,  the  gods  were  immortal  men,  and  men 
were  mortal  gods.  The  ideal  of  the  Greek  was  to  be  a 
hero,  endowed  with  all  the  qualities  with  which  their 
favorite  gods  were  endowed.  The  spirit  of  their  re- 
ligious teaching  was  not  so  much  a  desire  to  humanize 
the  gods,  as  to  deify  men.  The  celestial  deities  were  the 
friends  of  mortals.  They  participated  in  their  joys 
and  sorrows,  and  took  part  in  their  wars  and  con- 
flicts. They  were  endowed  with  human  loves  and  human 
passions,  and  the  religious  games  and  festivals  among 
them  were  celebrated  in  honor  of  their  deities,  with 
manly  feats,  with  dances,  with  music  and  poetry  and  a 
display  of  the  fine  arts,  because  the  Greeks  believed  that 
what  was  pleasing  and  delightful  to  man,  was  pleasing 
also  to  the  gods.  To  fight  for  their  temples  was  the 
highest  exercise  of  patriotism.  Impiety,  therefore,  was 
treason,  and  acts  of  sacrilege  were  visited  with  the  most 
severe  punishment. 

The  poetic  imagination  of  the  Greek  taught  him  of 
an  existence  after  death  in  a  world  of  shadow  or  sun- 
shine, and  it  cannot  be  said  that  they  failed  to  compre- 
hend the  grand  doctrine  of  immortality.  The  idea  of  a 
happy  existence  beyond  this  mortal  state  is  sung  by 
Pindar  (522-443  B.  C.)  in  a  poem  which  has  survived 
the  wreck  of  time.  Professor  John  A.  Symonds  has 
rendered  in  elegant  English  the  lines  of  the  poet  in 
which  he  breathes  the  thought  of  a  blessed  immortality, 


112 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


which  Professor  Symonds  says  "  sounds  like  a  trumpet 
blast  for  immortality,  and,  trampling  under  feet  the 
glories  of  this  world,  reveals  the  gladness  of  the  souls 
who  have  attained  Elysium."  Here  are  Pindar's  lines 
on  the  blissful  state  of  departed  mortals: 


**  For  them  the  night  all  through, 

In  that  broad  realm  below. 
The  splendor  of  the  sun  spreads  endless  light; 

'Mid  rosy  meadows  bright. 
Their  City  of  the  tombs  with  incense-trees. 

And  golden  chalices 

Of  flowers,  and  fruitage  fair. 

Scenting  the  breezy  air. 
Is  laden.    There  with  horses  and  with  play. 
With  games  and  lyres,  they  while  the  hours  away. 

"On  every  side  around 

Pure  happiness  is  found. 
With  all  the  blooming  beauty  of  the  world ; 

There  fragrant  smoke,  upcurled 
From  altars  where  the  blazing  fire  is  dense 

With  perfumed  frankincense. 

Burned  unto  gods  in  heaven. 

Through  all  the  land  is  driven. 
Making  its  pleasant  places  odorous 
With  scented  gales  and  sweet  airs  amorous.*' 


It  may  be  observed  in  this  connection,  that  up  to  the 
time  of  Pindar  no  clear  and  positive  revelation  as  to 
the  doctrine  of  immortality  had  been  revealed  to  man, 
aside  from  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis  taught  by 
Pythagoras,  relating  to  the  transmigration  of  souls. 
The  conception  of  eternal  life,  in  his  day,  was  a  dream 
vague  and  unstable  as  the  shadows.  Four  centuries 
after  Pindar's  bones  were  dust,  the  Messiah,  born  in 
Bethlehem  of  Judea,  first  proclaimed  that  doctrine  in 
the  ears  of  a  listening  world.  Nowhere  in  ancient 
philosophy  or  literature,  or  in  the  philosophy  or  litera- 
ture of  any  age,  do  we  find  a  sentiment  so  grand,  so 
imposing,  so  sublime,  as  the  declaration  made  by  the 
saviour  of  mankind  and  the  redeemer  of  the  world.    "  I 


OLYMPIAN    GAMES 


"3 


am  the  resurrection  and  the  life.  .  .  .  Whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  me  shall  never  die." 

The  most  ancient  religious  national  festival  among 
the  Greeks,  the  Olympian  games,  was  celebrated  on 
the  plain  of  Olympia,  at  the  sacred  precincts  of  Olym- 
pus, on  the  banks  of  the  Alpheus,  in  the  State  of 
Elis  in  the  Peloponnesus,  in  honor  of  Zeus  (Jupiter), 
the  king  of  heaven,  the  sovereign  of  gods  and  men  and 
supreme  ruler  of  the  universe.  Jupiter  was  supposed 
to  dwell  among  the  clouds,  upon  the  summit  of  many 
peaked  Olympus,  a  mountain  chain,  in  the  northeast- 
em  Thessaly,  separated  from  Ossa  and  Pelion  by  the 
river  Peneus,  which  flowed  into  the  Thermaic  gulf, 
through  the  enchanting  and  sacred  Vale  of  Tempe, 
from  whence  was  brought  the  laurel,  to  crown  the  vic- 
tor at  the  Pythian  games.  Upon  the  mountain  tops  in 
Thessaly,  Zeus  was  accustomed  to  convene  the  Counsel 
of  the  gods,  and  there  he  presided  over  their  delibera- 
tions. 

On  this  plain  of  Olympia  in  the  valley  of  the  Alpheus 
stood  from  time  immemorial  the  temple  of  the  Olym- 
pian Zeus,  where  the  games  were  celebrated  before  the 
age  of  Hercules,  who,  in  his  time,  revived  them.  They 
were  finally  established  periodically  by  Iphitus,  who  or- 
dained that  they  should  be  celebrated  every  fifth  year. 
The  festivities  took  place  at  the  time  of  the  first  full 
moon  after  the  summer  solstice,  a  period  corresponding 
in  our  calendar  with  the  latter  part  of  June,  or  early 
July.  This  was  the  most  important  event  in  the  life 
of  the  Hellenes,  by  which,  also,  chronology  was  estab- 
lished among  the  Greeks.  The  period  of  four  years, 
which  intervened  between  these  celebrations,  was  called 
an  Olympiad.  The  first  recorded  Olympiad  dated 
from  B.  C.  776,  when  Coroebus  was  crowned  victor, 
having  won  the  foot  race,  a  dash  of  210  yards,  which 
constituted  the  stadium  at  that  time.  Later  the  stadium 
was  fixed  at  various  lengths.     This  mode  of  chrono- 


i 


114 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


logical  computation  continued  among  the  Greeks  for 
a  period  of  more  than  eleven  hundred  years,  to  the 
292d  recorded  Olympiad  from  B.  C.  776  to  A.  D.  394, 
when  it  was  abolished  by  the  Emperor  Theodosius.  At 
first  the  festival  was  confined  to  a  single  day  and  the 
exercises  consisted  of  a  match  of  runners  on  the  sta- 
dium. From  time  to  time  other  contests  were  intro- 
duced until  the  time  occupied  extended  over  a  period  of 
^ve  days.  The  gymnastic  contests  embraced  feats  of 
skill  in  running  and  leaping,  hurling  the  quoit  and 
javelin,  archery,  armor  races,  wrestling  bouts  and  box- 
ing bouts.  About  B.  C.  680,  equestrian  contests  were 
introduced,  including  the  hippodrome,  or  the  four- 
horse  chariot  race,  and  later,  as  in  other  religious  fes- 
tivals, intellectual  exercises  were  performed,  including 
contests  between  musicians,  artists,  poets,  philosophers 
and  historians.  These  latter  exercises  formed  the  most 
conspicuous  part  of  the  Pythian  games,  which  will  be 
referred  to  presently. 

The  Olympian  games  became  the  most  celebrated 
and  renowned  contests  of  antiquity,  and  all  the  world 
did  homage  to  the  physical  and  intellectual  skill  and 
superiority  displayed  at  these  national  festi\^ls.  Al- 
though none  but  Greeks  were  permitted  to  participate, 
visitors  from  everywhere  were  welcomed,  and  thousands 
came  to  witness  the  wonderful  feats  in  which  the  most 
skilled  athletes  and  the  most  renowned  men  in  the  de- 
partment of  art  and  letters  contended  for  the  palm 
and  the  wreath,  esteemed  among  the  Greeks  as  the  high- 
est mark  of  distinction  possible  of  attainment. 

The  Olympian  games  were  regarded  as  the  most  im- 
portant of  events,  more  important  even  than  war. 
During  the  month  in  which  they  were  celebrated,  all 
hostilities  throughout  Greece  were  suspended,  and  a 
general  armistice  prevailed.  The  territory  of  Elis 
during  this  period  was  even  regarded  as  hallowed 
ground,  and  hostile  bands  who  dared  to  enter  it  during 


PYTHIAN    GAMES 


IIS 


that  particular  period,  were  deemed  to  have  incurred 
the  crime  of  sacrilege,  which  might  be  visited  by  drastic 
penalties  by  the  Amphictyonic  Council. 

The  only  prize  awarded  the  victor  was  a  palm 
branch  and  on  the  last  day  of  the  feast,  the  judge  pre- 
siding at  the  games,  placed  upon  his  brow,  the  simple 
crown  of  wild  olive,  from  the  tree  sacred  to  Hercules. 
But  his  fame  was  established,  and  he  became  for  the 
time  the  most  distinguished  man  in  Greece.  Athens 
was  accustomed  to  bestow  upon  its  citizens,  who  were 
crowned  at  the  religious  festivals,  a  pension  for  life. 

Besides  the  Olympian  games,  three  other  great  re- 
ligious festivals  were  celebrated  periodically  in  Hellas. 
These  were  known  respectively  as  the  Pythian,  the 
Nemean,  and  the  Isthmian  games.  The  Pythian  fes- 
tival was  held  in  honor  of  Apollo,  who  was  born  on  the 
island  of  Delos,  the  gem  of  the  Cyclades,  son  of  Zeus, 
by  Leto.  Apollo  was  the  god  of  light  and  the  enemy 
of  darkness.  He  was  god  of  the  sun,  and  twin  brother 
of  Artemis  (Diana),  goddess  of  hunting  and  of  the 
moon,  although  each  new  moon  was  sacred  also  to  her 
brother  Apollo.  One  of  his  ancient  sanctuaries  was  at 
Delphi  on  the  southern  slopes  of  Mount  Parnassus,  in 
Phocis,  overlooking  the  bay  of  Crissa,  in  the  gulf  of 
Corinth. 

The  site  where  the  temple  of  Delphi  was  built  was 
originally  known  as  Pytho,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that 
an  immense  Python,  having  wings  like  a  dragon,  dwelt 
there,  polluting  the  air  with  its  foul  and  poisonous 
breath.  This  monstrous  serpent  belonged  to  the  powers 
of  darkness.  It  assumed  to  guard  the  oracle,  and  was 
slain  by  Apollo,  and  in  memory  of  his  battle  with  the 
dragon,  and  his  triumph  over  the  powers  of  evil,  and 
the  broods  of  darkness,  the  Pythian  games  were  insti- 
tuted. Note  the  resemblance  to  the  modern  leerend  of 
St.  George  and  the  dragon.  They  were  celebrated  tri- 
ennially,  in  the  third  year  of  each  Olympiad,  at  or  near 


II 


ii6 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


Delphi.  After  the  first  Sacred  War,  in  which  Crissa 
was  overthrown,  the  Amphictyonic  Council  dedicated 
the  plain  of  Crissa,  on  which  to  commemorate  the 
Pythian  games,  and  the  spoils  of  the  war  were  devoted 
to  that  purpose.  As  Apollo  was  the  god  of  the  sun, 
the  god  of  light  and  of  summer,  these  games  were  cele- 
brated at  a  time  of  the  year  which  corresponds  to  our 
month  of  August. 

Poetry  and  music  at  first  were  the  principal  features 
of  the  Pythian  games.  The  music,  it  seems,  was  a  sort 
of  primitive  opera,  composed  for  the  flute,  and  ar- 
ranged to  represent  the  idea  of  the  battle  of  Apollo, 
with  the  serpent,  with  expressions  of  exquisite  harmony 
and  beauty,  interspersed  with  choruses  for  the  virgins, 
and  hymns  and  chants.  Rhythmic  dances  for  those  en- 
gaged in  the  contests  were  also  introduced.  But  grad- 
ually athletic  sports,  which  constituted  the  features  of 
the  Olympian  festivals,  were  included  in  the  festivities. 
The  poetical  and  musical,  as  well  as  the  athletic  con- 
tests, and  the  arrangement  and  details  of  the  festival, 
were  placed  by  the  Amphictyons  under  the  direction 
of  the  priests  attached  to  the  temple  of  Delphi.  In  the 
Pythian  games,  men  and  boys,  youths  and  maidens, 
might  enter  the  lists.  The  foot  races,  wrestling  and 
boxing  bouts,  and  also  the  equestrian  contests  were 
classified  and  arranged  for  men  and  boys. 

The  prize  awarded  the  victor  was  a  laurel  chaplet. 
The  bows  from  which  the  wreaths  were  made  were  re- 
quired to  be  brought  by  boys,  both  of  whose  parents 
were  living,  from  the  sacred  Vale  of  Tempe.  When  the 
greens  were  brought  to  the  plain  of  Crissa,  they  were 
borne  in  procession,  accompanied  by  flute  players. 
The  palm  branch  was  also  awarded  the  victor,  and  he 
was  accorded  the  distinguished  honor  of  having  his 
statue  erected  in  the  sacred  grove  on  the  plain  of 
Crissa. 

Pindar,  the  great  lyric  poet  of  antiquity,  one  of 


NEMEAN    GAMES 


117 


whose  poems  on  immortality  has  been  quoted  above, 
celebrated  the  victories  at  the  national  Hellenic  games 
in  lyric  verse,  known  as  the  Olympian,  Pythian  and 
Isthmian  Odes,  some  of  which  have  come  down  to  us. 
Pindar,  it  has  been  said,  was  beloved  of  the  gods,  and 
Apollo,  we  are  told,  sent  to  the  sleeping  infant  in  his 
cradle  a  swarm  of  bees,  who  bathed  his  lips  with  honey, 
so  that  he  became  one  of  the  sweetest  singers  of  the 
Hellenic  race. 

The  Nemean  games  were  instituted  in  honor  of  Zeus, 
in  commemoration  of  the  feat  of  Hercules,  in  his  con- 
test with  the  lion  which  infested  the  forests  in  the  val- 
ley of  Nemea,  in  Argolis,  in  the  Peloponnesus.  In  this 
valley  was  a  temple  of  Zeus  in  a  sacred  grove  near 
Cleonff,  about  midway  between  Nemea  and  Corinth. 
The  skin  of  the  Nemean  lion  was  impenetrable ;  no 
arrow  from  the  bow  of  mortal  could  pierce  it.  Hercules 
fought  the  beast  with  his  club.  The  weapon  failed.  He 
then  strangled  it  with  his  hands,  exercising  the  super- 
human strength  displayed  by  Samson  under  like  cir- 
cumstances, when  he  tore  asunder  the  jaws  of  the  lion 
that  roared  against  him  in  the  vineyards  of  Timnath. 

This  festival  was  also  supposed  to  have  originated 
in  the  funeral  games  celebrated  in  memory  of  the  in- 
fant Archemonus,  who  was  stung  by  a  serpent  in  the 
Nemean  valley.  The  fatal  accident  occurred  during 
the  absence  of  the  child's  nurse,  who  left  the  babe  to 
show  the  thirsty  warrior  chiefs  and  their  followers  the 
location  of  a  spring,  while  they  were  marching  through 
the  valley  on  their  way  to  destroy  Thebes.  This  expe- 
dition of  the  Argives  was  immortalized  by  ^schylus 
(B.  C.  525-456)  in  his  poem,  entitled  "The  Seven 
against  Thebes." 

The  contests  embraced  musical,  gymnastic  and 
equestrian  exercises,  the  long  race  and  the  armor  race. 
Only  males  could  enter  the  lists  in  the  Olympian  games, 
but  in   the  Nemean,  young  maidens  were  allowed  to 


ii8 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


H 


lit 


If 


contend  for  the  prize,  which  consisted  of  a  wreath  of 
olive  sprays,  and  later  a  garland  or  wreath  of  green 
parsley. 

The  Isthmian  games  were  celebrated  biennially,  on 
the  isthmus  of  Corinth,  in  a  pine  grove  sacred  to  Posei- 
don (Neptune).  There  is  some  question  as  to  the  time 
of  year  when  these  festivals  took  place.  One  account 
says  that  they  were  held  in  the  spring  of  the  first  and 
fourth  year  of  each  Olympiad.  Another  account  de- 
clares that  they  were  celebrated  in  midsummer,  prob- 
ably July,  in  the  first,  and  in  winter  in  the  fourth  year 
of  each  Olympiad. 

The  origin  of  these  games  is  lost  in  the  twilight  of 
antiquity,  which  gives  rise  to  a  different  account  of 
their  history.  Some  legends  declare  that  they  were 
established  by  Theseus,  the  national  hero  of  Attica,  in 
honor  of  Poseidon,  in  commemoration  of  his  exploits  in 
which  he  slew  the  robbers  and  monsters,  which  infested 
the  isthmus,  and  sought  his  life,  when  he  journeyed 
from  Troezen,  in  Argolis  and  across  the  isthmus  on 
his  way  to  Athens. 

Another  legend  declares  that  the  Isthmian  cere- 
monies originated  in  the  funeral  games  established  by 
Poseidon  in  memory  of  Melicertes,  the  son  of  Ino,  who 
was  pursued  by  her  husband,  Athamas.  Rather  than 
fall  into  the  hands  of  her  pursuer,  Ino,  when  she 
reached  the  isthmus  of  Corinth,  threw  herself  into  the 
sea  with  her  infant  son  in  her  arms.  The  dolphins 
sent  by  Poseidon  carried  their  bodies  to  the  shore, 
and  through  the  agency  of  the  god  of  the  sea, 
they  became  marine  deities,  who  watched  over  the 
misfortunes  and  lent  aid  to  shipwrecked  mariners. 
A  shrine  was  erected  to  Melicertes,  in  the  grove  of 
Poseidon. 

In  view  of  the  legend  which  associated  the  Isthmian 
games  with  the  deeds  of  Theseus,  the  Athenians  were 
always  conspicuous  at  the  festivals,  and  were  awarded 


ISTHMIAN    GAMES 


119 


seats  of  honor  at  the  contests.  Solon,  it  is  said,  pre- 
pared the  law,  which  awarded  100  drachmae  to  any 
Athenian  who  attained  the  crown  of  victory  on  the 
isthmus.  The  prize  awarded  the  victor  was  a  palm 
branch  and  a  wreath  of  wild  parsley. 

There  is  some  authority  for  the  assumption  that  the 
Isthmian  games  were  the  only  festivals  in  Hellas,  which 
were  not  pan-Hellenic,  because  it  is  said  that  the  Elians 
alone  of  all  the  Greeks,  were  excluded  from  participa- 
tion in  them.  It  would  seem  that  a  rule  which  would 
exclude  the  inhabitants  of  Elis  from  such  a  contest 
might  prove  disastrous,  if  the  latter  chose  to  retaliate 
and  exclude  the  Athenians  from  the  Olympian  games, 
the  first  and  greatest  national  festival  celebrated  in 
Hellas,  which  always  took  place  on  the  plain  on  the 
banks  of  the  Alpheus  in  Elis.  There  is,  perhaps,  some 
explanation  about  this  exclusion  of  the  Elians,  from  the 
isthmus,  which  has  not  been  made  clear  by  any  of  the 
ancient  authors.  If  there  is  any  truth  in  the  declara- 
tion that  the  Elians  were  ever  forbidden  to  contend  in 
the  Isthmian  games,  it  must  have  been  at  some  remote 
period,  when  the  ceremonies  were  conducted  merely  as 
a  local  festival,  and  was  abandoned  later,  when  the  con- 
test became  national  in  its  character. 

The  most  exciting  of  all  the  contests  in  these  na- 
tional games  in  time  came  to  be  the  four-horse  chariot 
race,  subsequently  adopted  by  the  Romans,  as  one  of 
the  conspicuous  features  of  the  Circus  Maximus.  The 
chariot  race,  as  described  by  General  Lew  Wallace  in 
Ben  Hur,  has  taken  its  place  as  a  classic.  It  is  a  prose 
poem  which  will  render  the  name  of  the  author  familiar 
to  remote  posterity. 

While  the  contests  in  these  national  games  were  open 
to  any  person  of  Hellenic  blood,  the  horse  races  and 
chariot  races  were  the  favorite  sport  of  the  wealthy, 
who  were  permitted  to  employ  trained  athletes  as  riders 
or  drivers.    The  exciting  scenes  of  the  hippodrome  fur- 


? 


120 


HILITAET   ANNALS   OF    OaSECE 


IMMOETALITY 


121 


nished  the  theme  for  the  sculptor,  the  painter  and  poet 
in  every  age.  Pindar,  in  the  Second  Olympian  Ode, 
sings  of  Theron,  King  of  Agrigentum,  who  won  the 
chariot  race.  In  Bishop  Heber's  translation,  the  ode 
begins : 

"Alone  in  famed  Olympia's  sand. 
The  victor*s  chaplet  Theron  wore." 

Such  were  the  religious  ideas  of  the  Greeks  in  the 
beginning  of  the  Fifth  Century  B.  C.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  their  views  of  the  destiny  of  man 
were  vague  and  shadowy.  Even  the  religion  of  the 
Israelites,  which  taught  the  existence  of  an  eternal  ever- 
living  God,  gave  no  clear  conception  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  The  only  hint  of  man's  future  state,  ex- 
pressed in  the  Old  Testament,  is  the  declaration  of 
Solomon  that  man's  dust  shall  "  return  to  the  earth  as 
it  was,  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  God,  who  gave 
it."  This  declaration  as  to  the  ultimate  destiny  of  the 
soul  was  made  more  than  ^\e  hundred  years  before  the 
birth  of  Socrates,  who,  by  his  teachings,  sought  to 
dispel  ancient  prejudices  and  fallacies.  From  the  lan- 
guage used  by  Plato,  in  the  Apology,  we  may  infer 
that  the  idea  of  immortality  had  been  taught  long  be- 
fore the  time  of  Socrates.  The  work  of  the  latter  was 
carried  on  by  Plato,  his  illustrious  pupil,  who  taught 
even  more  clearly  than  Socrates  the  doctrine  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul.  Did  either  of  them  ever  read 
the  books  of  Solomon,  or  any  part  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment scriptures,  or  did  they  read  from  the  book  of  Job 
the  profound  inquiry,  « if  a  man  die,  shall  he  live 
again  ?  "  Did  either  conceive  the  great  doctrine  of  im- 
mortality, from  the  hint  given  by  Solomon,  that  after 
death  the  spirit  of  man  should  return  to  the  divine 
source  from  which  it  sprang ;  to  God  who  gave  it.  If 
not,  then  the  sublime  idea  must  have  been  inspired  in 
the  Greek  philosophers,  who  succeeded  the  Greek  poets. 


They  taught  that  from  a  divine  source  sprang  not  only 
the  souls  of  men,  but  that  the  physical  universe,  and  all 
created  things,  was  the  work  of  an  eternal  self -existent 
cause,  the  divine  origin  and  genesis  of  all  physical  and 
material  existence. 

It  has  been  observed  that  all  ancient  religions  were 
founded  on  fear.  This  seems  to  be  the  theory  also  of 
the  priesthood  of  Israel.  But  the  religion  of  the  New 
Testament,  promulgated  in  the  first  century  of  our  era, 
is  founded  on  love.  It  is  founded  on  the  divine  atone- 
ment for  the  redemption  of  the  world.  The  suffering 
on  Calvary  of  our  redeemer,  once  a  babe  on  his 
mother's  knee,  is  depicted  in  Mr.  Welsh's  beautiful 
hymn: 

"  Oh  Babe,  the  shadows  deeper  grow. 
What  deepening  sorrow  grieves  Thee  so? 
Now  I  see  a  leafless  tree. 
On  a  height  called  Calvary. 
And  its  bitter  fruit,  God  saith. 
Ripens  for  my  hour  of  death; 
Yet  within  that  awful  hour 
Life  immortal  breaks  its  flower.'* 


li 


m 


CHAPTER    VIII 

ATHENIAN    JURISPRUDENCE  —  LAWS     AND    CONSTI- 
TUTION   OF    SOLON 


HE  principal  military  operations  in  which  the 
Greeks  were  engaged,  aside  from  intestine 
disturbances  and  revolutions,  intermediate 
the  period  of  the  Scythian  expedition  (B.  C. 
513)  and  the  battle  of  Marathon  (B.  C.  490) 
were  the  Ionian  Wars,  wliich  arose  from  the  efforts  of 
the  Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor  to  establish  the  inde- 
pendence which  they  enjoyed,  before  they  became 
tribute  allies  of  Croesus,  and  finally  subjects  of  Cyrus 
the  Great,  after  the  defeat  of  the  Lydian  Monarch  on 
the  plain  before  Sardis.  The  Ionian  Wars  include  the 
burning  of  Sardis,  the  battle  of  Lade,  and  the  siege  of 
Miletus. 

In  order  to  understand  the  political  and  social  con- 
dition of  the  Hellenes  during  this  period  and  the  period 
of  the  Persian  Wars,  which  followed,  it  will  be  impor- 
tant to  examine  the  laws  instituted  by  Solon  and  later 
modified  by  Clisthenes.  Also  the  laws  estabhshed  for 
the  government  of  the  Lacedamonians,  as  embraced  in 
the  rhetra  of  Lycurgus,  which  are  discussed  in  Chapter 
VI  supra, 

Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Aristides,  referring  to  the 
battle  of  Marathon,  says  that  the  flower  of  the  Persian 
army  made  a  prolonged  assault  on  the  enemies'  centre, 
held  by  the  tribes  of  Leontis  and  Antiochis.  He  relates 
also  how  Callimachus,  third  Archon  or  Archon  Pole- 
march  of  Athens,  decided  the  question  as  to  whether 
the  Greeks  would  fight.    The  strategi,  or  ten  generals, 


122 


THE   AEEOPAGITS 


1^3 


were  equally  divided,  five  voting  in  favor  and  five 
against  the  proposal  to  engage.  The  Polemarch  who 
commanded  the  right  wing  had  the  casting  vote,  by 
which  it  was  decided  to  give  battle. 

These  passages  are  not  entirely  intelligible,  unless 
the  legal  status  of  the  tribes,  the  strategi  and  the 
archonship,  are  understood.  Athens,  B.  C.  490,  was 
governed  by  the  Constitution  of  Clisthenes,  under  which 
the  tribes  referred  to  by  Plutarch  were  established. 
The  office  of  strategus  was  also  created  by  that  instru- 
ment. The  archonship,  aside  from  the  judicial  func- 
tions attached  to  the  office,  remained  much  the  same  as 
it  had  been  under  the  Constitution  of  Solon,  except  as 
to  the  third  archon  who,  prior  to  the  time  of  Clisthenes, 
was  clothed  with  supreme  command  of  the  military 
forces  of  the  State.  It  will  be  profitable,  therefore,  to 
examine  briefly,  both  the  Constitution  of  Solon  and  the 
Constitution  of  Clisthenes.  In  order  to  understand 
the  latter,  it  will  be  necessary  also  to  become  familiar 
with  the  former. 

The  Senate,  or  Council  of  Areopagus,  which  con- 
vened on  the  Hill  of  Ares  (  "A/oelo?  00709),  desig- 
nated by  the  Romans,  Mars'  Hill,  immediately  west  and 
within  bow-shot  of  the  Acropolis,  was  the  most  ancient 
tribunal  known  to  the  Hellenes.  That  body,  in  primi- 
tive times,  exercised  all  the  functions  of  the  State, 
apparently,  and  administered  all  law,  civil  and  crim- 
inal. We  have  no  knowledge  that  any  written  records 
of  its  decisions  have  been  preserved.  The  jurispru- 
dence of  this  ancient  people  seems  never  to  have  as- 
sumed the  form  of  a  written  code,  until  the  laws,  or 
rather  a  digest  of  the  decisions  of  the  Areopagus,  were 
codified  by  Draco  (B.  C.  624)  and  became  standard 
authority.  The  unusual  cruelty  and  severity  of  this 
code  is  proverbial.  It  is  universally  declared  that 
Draco's  laws  were  written  in  blood  for  the  reason  that 
under  his  code,  about  every  crime  constituted  a  capital 


I 


u 


m 


124 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


LAWS    OF    DRACO 


125 


offense,  punishable  with  death.  In  explanation  of  these 
drastic  provisions,  it  is  said  that  Draco  held  that  small 
offenses  deserved  death  and  he  could  find  no  more  severe 
penalty  for  the  greater  crimes.  In  this  connection 
Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Solon,  observes,  "  the  man  who 
was  convicted  of  idleness,  or  who  stole  a  cabbage,  or 
an  apple,  was  liable  to  death,  no  less  than  the  robber 
of  temples,  or  the  murderer."  The  Athenian  penal 
code,  if  this  theory  is  correct,  must  have  been  a  dreary 
affair,  consisting  principally  of  a  catalogue  of  the  vari- 
ous crimes  known  to  the  law.  Perhaps  the  statute,  by 
way  of  variety,  and  to  break  the  doleful  monotony, 
must  have  varied  the  mode  in  which  the  death  penalty 
was  inflicted.  But  why  malign  Draco?  Under  the  en- 
lightened Commonwealth  of  England,  until  the  reign 
of  George  IV,  grand  larceny  was  a  capital  offence,  j  ust 
as  murder  was  a  capital  offence.  This  seems  all  the 
more  horrible,  when  we  recall  that  grand  larceny  em- 
braced every  theft  where  the  value  of  the  article  pur- 
loined was  of  the  value  of  more  than  twelvepence.  The 
life  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  therefore,  who  was  in- 
dicted for  grand  larceny,  frequently  turned  on  the 
question  of  value.  For  example,  where  the  charge 
against  the  prisoner  was  the  theft  of  a  spoon,  the  ques- 
tion on  which  the  life  of  the  accused  depended  was 
whether  the  metal  in  the  spoon  was  silver  or  pewter. 

In  ancient  times,  the  mode  of  inflicting  the  death  pen- 
alty presented  methods  in  infinite  variety,  ranging 
from  crucifixion  and  drinking  poison  to  ordinary  be- 
heading, hanging  or  sword  thrust  in  the  vitals.  Some 
idea  of  the  varieties  of  torture  which  were  practised 
may  be  inferred  from  the  choice  penalty  inflicted  by  the 
Roman  law  for  the  crime  of  parricide,  which  Sir  Will- 
iam Blackstone  tells  us,  was  punished  in  a  much  severer 
manner  than  any  other  kind  of  homicide.  "  After  be- 
ing scourged,"  says  Blackstone  (iv,  202),  "  the  delin- 
quents were  sewed  up  in  a  leathern  sack  with  a  live  dog, 


» 


a  cock,  a  viper  and  an  ape,  and  so  cast  into  the  sea. 
The  illustrious  commentator  adds,  "  Solon,  it  is  true, 
in  his  laws,  made  none  against  parricide,  apprehending 
it  impossible  that  any  one  should  be  guilty  of  so  un- 
natural a  barbarity." 

The  legislation  of  Draco,  however,  presents  one 
redeeming  feature  which  certainly  reflects  credit  upon 
its  author.  It  is  said  that  through  his  influence  was 
established  the  Ephetse,  a  court  consisting  of  fifty-one 
members  having  jurisdiction  in  homicide  cases.  This 
tribunal  embraced  four  divisions:  (1)  having  jurisdic- 
tion of  cases  of  justifiable  homicide;  (2)  cases  of  ac- 
cidental homicide;  (3)  cases  where  the  homicide  was 
committed  abroad,  while  the  offender  was  in  exile; 
(4)  cases  where  a  chattel  belonging  to  defendant  was 
the  immediate  occasion  of  death,  as  where  one  is  killed 
by  a  fall  from  a  horse,  a  cart  or  the  like,  not  being  in 
motion.  Under  the  law  of  England  in  such  cases  the 
chattel  connected  with  the  offense  is  called  a  deodand, 
which  is  forfeited,  to  the  State.  The  table  of  laws  es- 
tablished by  Draco  remained  in  force  until  they  were 
abolished  by  Solon.  He  retained,  however,  the  court 
designated,  the  Epheta?,  above  referred  to. 

Solon  lived  to  be  old.  It  is  said  he  was  bom  on  the 
island  of  Salamis  about  638  B.  C,  and  died  about  B.  C. 
559.  He  was  a  direct  lineal  descendant  of  Codrus,  the 
last  King  of  Athens.  He  was  one  of  the  seven  wise 
men  of  Greece,  and  to  him  was  attributed  the  political 
maxim  that  "  an  injury  to  one  was  the  concern  of  all; " 
that  harm  done  to  the  meanest  subject  was  an  insult 
and  injury  to  the  entire  community.  The  beginning 
of  the  popularity  of  this  great  lawgiver  of  antiquity 
arose  from  his  successful  efforts  to  retain  for  Athens 
his  native  island,  after  it  had  been  taken  and  retaken 
by  the  State  of  Megara.  Plutarch  observes  that  the 
Athenians  grew  tired  of  the  long  and  tedious  war, 
waged  for  the  possession  of  Salamis,  and  enacted  a  law, 


ij 


126 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


making  it  a  crime  punishable  with  death  for  any  man, 
either  by  writing  or  speaking,  to  assert  that  Athens 
should  seek  to  recover  the  island.  Solon,  like  many 
others,  whose  numbers  were  constantly  increasing,  con- 
sidered this  law  a  disgrace  and  an  abomination,  but 
none  cared  to  risk  his  life  by  advocating  a  renewal  of 
the  war  for  its  recovery.  Finally,  he  conceived  the 
idea  that  he  might  successfully  evade  the  Statute,  by 
feigning  insanity,  and  the  rumor  spread  about  the  city 
that  he  was  mad.  His  plan  was,  while  apparently  in- 
sane, to  make  a  strong  plea  to  the  people  as  the  frantic 
appeal  of  a  lunatic,  relying,  in  case  of  failure,  upon 
his  feigned  insanity  to  excuse  him  from  incurring  the 
penalty  of  the  law.  He  composed  a  stirring  patriotic 
poem,  which  he  committed  to  memory,  and  when  the 
opportunity  presented  itself,  rushed  frantically  into 
the  market-place  and,  mounting  the  heralds*  stand, 
sang  his  verses,  entitled  Salamis,  beginning  with  the 
lines, 

*•  I  am  a  herald  come  from  Salamis  the  fair. 
My  news  from  thence  my  verses  shall  declare." 

The  plan  succeeded.  The  poem  was  everywhere 
commended,  and  under  the  leadership  of  Pisistratus, 
one  of  Solon's  kinsmen,  the  obnoxious  law  was  repealed, 
and  as  a  result  Athens  recovered  Salamis  (about  B.  C. 
600)  and  Solon  became  popular  with  all  classes. 

Social  and  pohtical  conditions  in  Attica  were  re- 
flected by  the  contour  of  the  landscape,  and  the  topog- 
raphy of  the  country,  diversified  by  hills,  plains  and 
the  shores  of  the  sea.  The  Hill-men  were  shepherds 
and  herdsmen;  those  who  dwelt  in  the  level  country 
were  agriculturalists  who  owned  the  land  and  tilled  the 
soil;  while  those  who  dwelt  along  the  shore  were  fisher- 
men and  traders,  who  forced  their  living  from  the  sea. 
These  inhabitants  were  divided  into  three  classes, 
grouped  in  accordance  with  their  occupations.     The 


POLITICAL   PARTIES 


127 


Hill-men  were  among  the  poorest.  They,  like  the 
mountaineers  in  every  age,  loved  liberty  and  hated 
tyranny.  They  strove  constantly  to  overthrow  olig- 
archy and  establish  democracy.  They  were  known  as 
the  Daicrii.  The  aristocrats  embraced  the  money 
lenders  and  conservative  agriculturalists,  who  tilled 
the  land,  or  held  mortgages  upon  it,  and  were  known 
as  Pedieis.  These  wealthy  members  of  society,  as  a 
class,  were  designated  the  Eupatridae,  or  the  nobility 
among  whom  the  high  office  of  Archon  was,  in  earlier 
times,  hereditary.  The  merchants  and  dwellers  along 
the  coast,  many  of  whom  were  well-to-do,  were  a  mixed 
population,  known  as  the  Parali,  who  held  a  position 
politically  which  prevented  the  Hill-men  and  the  Eu- 
patridae from  securing  the  kind  of  a  government  each 
strove  to  establish. 

The  condition  of  the  masses,  under  such  circum- 
stances, was  miserable  indeed,  owing  to  the  extreme 
poverty  which  prevailed  among  them.  The  poor  con- 
stantly grew  poorer,  and  the  severe  laws  governing  the 
relation  of  debtor  and  creditor  rendered  their  condi- 
tion desperate. 

Aristotle^  refers  briefly  to  these  deplorable  condi- 
tions. The  form  of  government  was  an  oligarchy,  and 
the  poorer  classes,  men,  women  and  children,  were  the 
serfs  of  the  rich.  They  were  obliged  to  cultivate  the 
lands  of  the  nobility,  and  received  as  compensation  one- 
sixth  of  what  they  produced.  The  entire  country  was 
in  the  hands  of  a  few  persons.  If  for  any  reason  a 
tenant  failed  to  pay  his  rent,  the  landlord  might  resort 
to  the  most  drastic  remedies,  and  was  empowered  to 
sell  not  only  the  serf,  who  toiled  for  him,  but  his  chil- 
dren also,  as  slaves.  If  necessity  required  any  to  pro- 
cure a  loan,  the  money  was  secured  by  a  mortgage  on 
the  debtor's  person,  as  well  as  on  his  lands,  if  he  had 


! 


*  Constitution  of  Athens,  2. 


128 


MILITAKY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


LEGISLATION    OF    SOLON 


129 


any.  These  conditions  prevailed  until  Solon  came  for- 
ward as  the  leader  of  the  masses,  was  elected  Archon, 
instituted  his  reforms,  and  established  the  constitution, 
or  code  of  laws,  which  bears  his  name. 

Severe  as  these  laws  were,  it  is  said  that  the  law  of 
the  Twelve  Tables,  enacted  prior  to  the  abolition  of  the 
Tarquins  in  Rome,  was  even  worse.  Under  its  provi- 
sions creditors  were  permitted  to  slay  the  delinquent 
debtor,  cut  his  body  in  pieces,  and  distribute  his  flesh 
among  themselves. 

One  method  of  preserving  a  record  of  mortgages  in 
Attica,  at  this  period,  was  to  erect  upon  the  mortgaged 
land  a  stone  or  marble  post,  on  which  was  inscribed  the 
date  of  the  mortgage,  the  name  of  the  mortgagor,  and 
the  amount  of  principal  due  thereon.     The  result  of 
the    system    increased    the    wretchedness    and    misery 
among  the  masses  of  the  poor,  to  such  an  extent  that 
their  condition  became  too  grievous  to  be  borne.    Exist- 
ing laws  could  no  longer  be  enforced.     Fields,  home- 
steads  and  garden   spots   all   over   the   country   were 
dotted  with  the  stone  pillars  on  which  their  debts  were 
recorded,    and    which    it    became    impossible    to    pay. 
Many  freeborn  citizens  had  been  sold  by  their  creditors 
into  slavery.     Their  families,  as  a  consequence,  were 
broken  and  scattered.     Many,  as  slaves  of  their  credi- 
tors, were  compelled  to  cultivate  for  their  masters  the 
lands  which  they  had  themselves  owned.     Many  were 
sold  to  foreigners  and  were  obliged  to  toil  as  exiles  in 
bondage.     A  crisis  was  at  hand,  revolution  threatened, 
and  something  had  to  be  done  to  bring  relief  from  con- 
ditions which  had  become  intolerable.     The  revolt  in- 
stituted by  Cylon  had  failed,  but  the  masses  could  not 
be  held  longer  in  restraint. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  existing  in  Attica  when, 
by  unanimous  consent  of  rich  and  poor  alike,  Solon 
was  elected  Archon  (B.  C.  594),  and  was  given  power 
to  frame  remedial  legislation.     He  was  looked  upon  as 


was  Moses  by  the  Israelites,  as  the  sage  and  philos- 
opher, who  could  lead  his  countrymen  out  of  the  wil- 
derness  of  political  chaos,  which  threatened  the  ruin 
of  the  State.     The  position  in  which  Solon  was  placed 
was  extremely  delicate,  confronted  as  he  was  by  diverse 
warring  and  conflicting  interests,  the  demands  of  the 
wealthy,  who  had  so  long  enjoyed  power  and  privilege 
on  the  one  hand;    and  on  the  other,  the  cry  of  the 
masses  for  political  equality,  a  share  in  the  government, 
and  immediate  relief  from  their  debts.     It  was  obvious, 
that  no  matter  what  reforms  Solon  might  grant,  every- 
body could  not  be  satisfied,  and  nobody  could  be  ex- 
pected to  be  altogether  satisfied.     The  legislation  of 
Solon,  therefore,  was  of  necessity  a  compromise.     Had 
he  chosen  to  take  advantage  of  the  crisis  and  the  posi- 
tion in  which  he  was  placed  to  seize  the  reins  of  power, 
he   might   have   championed  the   cause   of   the   masses 
against    tlie    tyranny    and    oppression    of    the    ruling 
families,  assumed  leadership  in  the  State,  and  antici- 
pated the  work  of  Clisthenes  and  Pericles  in  establish- 
ing a  democracy.     The  country  was  passing  through  a 
bloodless   revolution,  but   Solon,  mindful  of  the  trust 
reposed  in  him,  and  prompted  by  the  purest  and  loftiest 
ideas  of  patriotism,  strove  to  discharge  with  courage 
and  fidelity  the  important  task  assigned  to  him. 

As  the  intolerable  condition  of  the  debtor  class  was 
the  immediate  cause  of  the  elevation  of  Solon  to  the 
archonship,  his  first  measure  of  relief  was  in  their  be- 
half. To  that  end  he  framed  the  great  remedial 
statute  entitled  the  Seisachtheia  ^  (^eLadxOeLa).  This 
piece  of  legislation  might  with  propriety  have  been  en- 
titled, "  An  Act  for  the  relief  of  the  debtor  class,  to 
extinguish  mortgages,  emancipate  all  citizens  held  by 
their  creditors  as  slaves,  or  sold  into  foreign  bondage, 
and  to  abolish  imprisonment  for  debt."     These  were 


i 


'  Law  for  "  removing  burdens." 


I30 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


REMEDIAL    LEGISLATION 


131 


the  objects  which  the  law  accomplished.  The  statute 
required  that  all  mortgages,  and  the  bonds  or  obliga- 
tion they  were  given  to  secure,  should  be  cancelled,  and 
the  mortgages  extinguished.  The  effect  was  to  free  all 
landed  property  from  existing  incumbrances.  Solon, 
m  one  of  his  poems,  thus  refers  to  this  sweeping  enact- 
ment :  * 

"  The  mortgage-stones  that  covered  her,  by  me 
Removed  —  the  land,  that  was  a  slave,  is  free." 

Under  the  statute,  all  slaves  were  made  free.  Pro- 
vision was  also  made  for  redeeming  from  bondage  those 
citizens  who  had  been  sold  to  foreign  masters.  In  order 
to  prevent  syndicates  and  monopolies  from  securing 
control  of  the  land,  and  from  creating  a  landed  aris- 
tocracy, a  maximum  limit  was  set  to  individual  owner- 
ship. Thus  Solon,  by  this  ancient  bankruptcy  law, 
abohshed  commercial  slavery  in  Attica.  The  remedy 
was  drastic  indeed,  partaking  of  the  nature  of  confisca- 
tion, but  Solon  deemed  it  necessary  to  restore  peace 
and  order  in  the  State.  Was  it,  however,  any  more 
drastic  than  the  remedy  provided  by  our  modem  bank- 
ruptcy laws,  whereby  the  debtor  class  are  relieved  from 
their  obligations,  and  given  a  fresh  start  in  life?  Does 
not  a  bankruptcy  law,  in  effect,  operate  to  confiscate 
the  property  of  the  creditor?  Yet  bankruptcy  laws 
are  now  held  in  popular  esteem  and  are  deemed  to  be  a 
wise  and  beneficent  exercise  of  legislative  power. 

While  the  law  of  Solon  extinguished  all  mortgages 
a,nd  incumbrances  which  burdened  the  land,  and  re- 
lieved debtors  of  their  obligations,  the  statute  related 
only  to  existing  obligations.  It  is  not  to  be  inferred 
that  loans  were  not  thereafter  made,  secured  by  mort- 
gages on  land.  But  the  iniquitous  usury  laws  were 
abrogated,  and  all  debtors  were  made  free  men  and 
given  a  new  start  in  life.  The  statute  further  made 
it  unlawful  for  a  man  to  pledge  his  body  to  his  creditor, 


and  forbade  the  creditor  to  sell  the  delinquent  debtor 
or  his  family  into  slavery.  It  also  abolished  imprison- 
ment for  debt,  a  reform  which  was  not  accomplished 
in  modern  times,  even  in  our  own  republic,  till  very  late 
in  the  nineteenth  century. 

In  order  to  enable  the  creditor  in  a  measure  to  re- 
coup part  of  his  losses,  under  the  relief  law,  provision 
was  made  to  increase  the  purchasing  power  of  money. 
Mr.  Grote  calculates  that  the  value  of  the  silver 
drachma  was  depreciated  at  least  27  per  cent.,  so  that 
a  debt  of  100  drachmas  could  be  discharged  by  the 
payment  of  73  drachmas  under  the  new  law. 

This  important  law  for  the  relief  of  the  debtor  class 
and  affecting  the  relation  of  debtor  and  creditor  abol- 
ishing commercial  slavery,  forbidding  imprisonment  for 
debt,  limiting  the  ownership  of  land  and  reforming  the 
currency  laws,  was  the  result  of  Solon's  first  term  as 
Archon.  He  was  unanimously  reelected,  and  during 
his  second  term,  framed  a  new  constitution,  popularly 
known  as  the  Constitution  of  Solon. 

The  state  of  Attica,  at  the  time,  was  ruled  by  nine 
Archons  and  the  Senate  or  Council  of  the  Areopagus. 
These  tribunals  were  vested  with  all  legislative  and 
executive  authority,  not  vested  in  the  Ephatae.  The 
archonship  was  hereditary,  and  the  Areopagus  was 
composed  of  persons  who  had  formerly  held  the  office 
of  Archon.  Before  Solon's  time,  however,  the  archon- 
ship had  ceased  to  be  hereditary,  and  those  chosen 
to  that  high  office  held  it  for  a  period  of  ten  years. 
The  Archons  were  chosen  from  their  own  number  by  the 
Eupatrida?,  who  constituted  the  wealthy  class  or  the 
nobility  of  Attica.  It  was  claimed  that  Theseus  divided 
the  people  into  three  divisions:  (1)  the  nobility  or 
gentry  denominated  the  Eupatridae;  (2)  the  husband- 
men or  Geomori;  and  (3)  the  artisans,  designated  the 
Demiurgi.  The  Archons  were  divided  into  four  classes : 
(1)  The  Archon,  or  Archon  Eponymus,  who  was  presi- 


I! 


il 


m 


132 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


LAW   OP    DESCENT 


dent  of  the  entire  body  of  magistrates.  His  duties  were 
similar  to  those  administered  by  the  modern  Surrogate, 
or  Orphan's  Court.  He  had  jurisdiction  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  widows  and  orphans,  and  all  disputes  con- 
cerning the  family,  and  domestic  relations;  (2)  The 
Archon  Basileus,  or  the  king,  whose  functions  per- 
tained to  religious  matters,  and  who  was  substituted  for 
the  king  as  high  priest  of  the  people.  His  jurisdiction 
extended  also  to  homicide  cases.  If  this  is  correct,  the 
Areopagus  must  in  such  cases  have  constituted  the 
Appellate  Court.  (3)  The  Archon  Polemarch,  or 
third  Archon,  was  commander-in-chief  of  all  military 
forces  in  the  State.  His  civil  jurisdiction  extended  to 
all  controversies  between  citizens  and  aliens.  (4)  The 
remaining  six  Archons  were  the  ordinary  magistrates 
with  judicial  powers,  and  exercised  jurisdiction  in  all 
matters  not  within  the  province  of  the  other  Archons. 
They  were  designated  the  Thesmotheta?. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  examine,  for  a  moment,  the 
question  as  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Archon  Epony- 
mus,  or  chief  Archon,  while  exercising  his  functions  as 
to  estates  of  decedents,  which  are  performed  under  our 
laws  by  the  Surrogate  or  Orphan's  Court.  From  the 
earliest  times,  the  law  recognized,  in  some  form,  the 
rights  of  the  heirs  of  an  individual,  to  succeed  to  prop- 
erty which  belonged  to  the  ancestor.  The  right  to 
own  property,  in  a  civilized  community,  is  not  a  natu- 
ral, but  a  civil  right.  The  right  to  keep  and  retain 
dominion  of  property  can  be  exercised  only  by  the  liv- 
ing, for  when  a  man  dies  and  ceases  to  exist,  he  ceases 
to  have  dominion.  Under  the  civil  law,  the  object  was 
to  prevent  a  vacancy  or  cessation  of  ownership.  To 
this  end  father  and  son  were,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  but 
one  person,  so  that  upon  the  death  of  either,  the  estate 
strictly  speaking  did  not  descend,  but  continued  in  the 
possession  of  the  survivor.  "  From  remote  antiquity," 
says  Sir  William  Blackstone,  "  on  failure  of  children 


133 


or  heirs,  a  man's  servants,  bom  under  his  roof,  were 
allowed  to  be  his  heirs;  being  immediately  on  the  spot 
when  he  died."  He  cites,  in  support  of  this  proposi- 
tion, from  the  book  of  Genesis  (xv,  3),  where  the  patri- 
arch Abram  in  his  old  age  declared  "  to  me  thou  hast 
given  no  seed:  and  lo,  one  bom  in  my  house  is  mine 
heir."  It  is  obvious  that  the  right  of  inheritance  has 
been  recognized  among  mankind  since  remote  antiquity. 
But  the  right  of  the  ancestor  to  dispose  of  his  prop- 
erty by  will  has  been  established  at  various  periods 
among  civilized  nations.  In  England  no  one  could  dis- 
pose of  his  lands  by  a  last  will  and  testament  till  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII,  when  a  statute  was  passed  au- 
thorizing the  making  of  wills,  and  gave  the  right  to  a 
teiStator  to  devise  part  of  his  realty,  though  not  then 
held  in  free  and  common  sockage.  But  after  the  Res- 
toration, in  the  reign  of  Charles  II,  the  right  of  de- 
vising real  property  became  universal.  Under  the  an- 
cient law  of  the  Athenians  the  estate  of  the  ancestor 
was  vested  in  his  lineal  descendants,  and  in  the  absence 
of  lineals,  then  in  collaterals.  Under  the  Constitution 
of  Solon,  the  ancestor  was  permitted  to  dispose  of  his 
property  by  a  last  will  and  testament,  but  only  in  a 
case  where  there  were  no  lineal  descendants,  "  showing," 
observes  Plutarch,  "  that  Solon  esteemed  friendship  a 
stronger  tie  than  kindred,  and  affection  than  necessity; 
and  made  every  man's  estate  truly  his  own."  To  this 
rule  of  descent  and  distribution,  or  inheritance  by  de- 
vise or  bequest  in  a  last  will  and  testament,  there  was 
this  qualification,  which  required  that  whoever  suc- 
ceeded to  the  estate,  took  it,  cum  onere,  that  is,  bur- 
dened with  the  debts  of  the  ancestor  or  testator.  It  is 
indeed  an  equitable  rule  that  a  man  must  be  just  before 
he  is  generous,  and  it  is  only  right  that  the  debts  of 
the  ancestor  must  be  first  discharged,  before  the  residue 
can  be  paid  over  to  the  heirs,  devisees  or  legatees.  But 
the  laws  of  Athens,  in  this  regard,  under  the  Constitu- 


I 


134 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS   OF   GREECE 


ATTIC    TEIBES    TJNDEE   SOLON 


135 


tion  of  Clisthenes,  and  presumably  under  the  Constitu- 
tion of  Solon,  went  much  farther  than  attaching  the 
debts  of  the  decedent  to  the  property  he  left.  The  heir 
was  obliged  to  discharge  the  debts  of  the  ancestor  in 
any  event,  and  if  the  property  of  the  decedent  was  in- 
sufficient, the  heir  became  personally  liable  for  the  de- 
ficiency; or  for  the  entire  indebtedness,  if  the  debtor 
left  no  property.  Not  only  this,  but  the  obligation  of 
the  ancestor  operated  to  disfranchise  the  heir,  until  the 
obligations  of  the  ancestor  were  paid  and  discharged. 

A  conspicuous  example  of  this  harsh  and  unjust  law 
is  illustrated  in  the  case  of  Cimon,  son  of  Miltiades. 
It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  hero  of  Marathon  was 
fined  Mty  talents  (more  than  $50,000),  by  reason  of 
the  losses  sustained  by  the  Commonwealth  in  fitting  out 
the  expedition  he  asked  for,  with  which  he  sailed  to  the 
island  of  Paros.  Miltiades  was  blamed,  because  he  did 
not  disclose  the  purpose  for  which  he  wished  to  use  the 
fleet.  He,  being  unable  to  discharge  the  debt,  died  in 
prison  shortly  after  his  trial.  His  son,  the  illustrious 
Cimon,  under  the  unjust  laws  of  his  country,  became 
personally  liable  for  this  debt  of  his  father,  and  was 
disfranchised  by  operation  of  law,  so  long  as  the  debt 
remained  unpaid.  But  for  the  generosity  of  Calhas, 
one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  Athens,  who  fell  in  love 
with  Elpinice,  the  sister  of  Cimon,  and  who  discharged 
this  unjust  debt  inherited  by  his  brother-in-law,  the 
Athenians  would  have  lost  the  distinguished  services  of 
this  great  admiral,  who,  with  the  sole  exception  of 
Themistocles,  was  the  most  illustrious  commander  after 
his  father's  death  among  the  Hellenese. 

The  Areopagus,  on  the  Hill  of  Ares  (Mars'  Hill), 
within  bow-shot  of  the  Acropolis,  was  the  ancient  Sen- 
ate or  Council  having  jurisdiction  in  criminal  cases, 
including  certain  cases  of  homicide,  and  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  religion  and  morals.  This  branch  of  au- 
thority it  still  possessed  in  the  days  of  the  Apostle 


Paul,  who  was  taken  before  the  Council  of  the  Areopa- 
gus, with  the  admonition  that  he  explain  to  that  body 
the  "  new  doctrine  "  which  he  preached  in  Athens.  Be- 
fore that  august  tribunal,  Paul,  looking  up  at  the 
AcropoHs  near  by,  covered  with  temples  and  statues  of 
gods  and  goddesses,  delivered  his  address  beginning, 
"Ye  men  of  Athens,  I  perceive  that  in  all  things  ye 
are  very  religious." 

The  people  of  Attica  from  the  earliest  times  were 
divided  politically  into  four  tribes,  said  to  have  been 
descended  from  the  four  sons  of  the  ancient  patriarch. 
Ion:  Geleon,  ^gicores,  Argades  and  Hoples.  In  the 
days  of  Solon,  these  tribes  were  still  so  designated. 
They  mingled  in  the  discharge  of  their  religious  duties 
and  social  obligations,  and  for  mutual  improvement 
and  intercourse.  In  the  exercise  of  religious  functions 
each  tribe  had  a  patriarch,  or  head,  denominated  the 
King,  who  offered  the  sacrifices  on  behalf  of  his  people. 

Under  the  Constitution  of  Solon,  the  four  Ionian 
tribes  remained,  as  they  had  been,  but  the  entire  body 
of  citizens  were  divided  for  political  purposes  into  four 
classes,  based  on  a  standard  of  wealth  instead  of  a 
standard  of  birth.  The  new  classification  made  wealth, 
not  blood,  the  canon  of  privilege.  Of  the  four  classes, 
three  were  graded  by  property  qualifications,  and  the 
fourth,  by  far  the  most  numerous,  consisting  of  the 
great  mass  of  citizens,  included  those  who  possessed 
practically  no  property  or  stated  income.  In  the  first 
class  were  grouped  all  persons  having  landed  estates 
yielding  an  income,  measured  by  the  equivalent  of  at 
least  five  hundred  medimini  or  measures  of  grain,  or  its 
equivalent  in  wine  and  oil.  The  second  class  of  landed 
proprietors  included  those  whose  estates  yielded  be- 
tween 300  and  500  medimini.  These  were  the  Hippies, 
or  horsemen,  who  furnished  a  horse,  and  served  in  the 
cavalry  in  time  of  war.  The  third  class  comprised 
the   small  farmers,  included  those  whose  land  yielded 


136 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


POWER    OF    THE    ELECTORATE 


^37 


from  300  to  200  medimini,  designated  the  Zeugitae, 
"  owners  of  a  yoke  "  of  oxen  for  the  plough.  The 
fourth  estate  included  all  whose  property  yielded  less 
than  200  medimini,  or  who  owned  no  land  at  all.  This, 
by  far  the  most  numerous  class,  included  artisans, 
laborers,  shopkeepers,  clerks,  fishermen  and  sailors. 

Thus  Solon,  though  actuated  by  the  highest  and 
purest  motives,  made  merchandise  of  privilege  (for,  as 
we  shall  see,  the  landed  proprietors  exercised  exclusively 
the  political  power)  and  measured  it,  as  the  merchant 
measures  his  grain,  and  wine,  and  oil,  to  be  sold  in  the 
market.  These  political  powers  were  classified  as  fol- 
lows: Those  of  the  first  or  wealthiest  privileged  class 
were  alone  eligible  to  the  archonship,  to  membership  in 
the  Senate  or  Court  of  the  Areopagus;  to  the  higher 
offices,  and  to  military  and  naval  commands.  The 
other  two  privileged  classes  were  eligible  only  to  minor 
offices,  and  to  membership  in  the  Council  of  the  Four 
Hundred  with  members  of  the  first  class.  With  regard 
to  military  service,  those  in  the  second  class  served  in 
the  cavalry;  those  in  the  third  class,  as  hoplites,  or 
heavy-armed  infantry :  those  in  the  fourth  class  ;ere 
not  eligible  to  any  office,  nor  were  they  liable  to  any 
direct  tax.  They  served  in  the  army  as  light  armed 
troops  and  as  sailors  in  the  fleet.  The  only  political 
power  which  they  seemed  to  exercise  was  the  right  of 
franchise,  or  privilege  of  voting  for  rulers  nominated 
by  others. 

The  cavalry  and  heavy  armed  troops  were  required 
to  furnish  their  own  arms,  except  a  shield  and  spear. 
These  weapons  were  supplied  by  the  State  which  gave 
to  every  citizen  when  he  attained  his  majority,  a  spear 
and  shield,  and  bade  him  defend  the  Commonwealth. 
He  was  obliged  to  bear  arms  in  defense  of  his  country, 
and  render  military  service  when  called  upon,  without 
pay. 

Although  the  government  founded  by  Solon  was  an 


oligarchy,  it  was  his  intention  to  give  the  masses  a 
voice  in  public  affairs.  To  this  end  every  citizen  was 
clothed  with  the  franchise,  and  entitled  to  vote  in  the 
Public  Assembly,  afterwards  designated  the  Ecclesia, 
which  met  annually,  and  elected  the  Archons  and  all 
other  public  officers.  This  great  popular  body,  which 
constituted  the  entire  electorate,  was  clothed  also  with 
judicial  functions,  and  sat  as  an  Appellate  Court  to  re- 
view appeals  taken  from  the  decisions  of  the  Archons. 
This  power  was  granted  to  give  the  people  a  check  on 
the  latter,  who  were  chosen  only  from  the  wealthiest 
class.  It  was  the  popular  branch  of  the  government, 
and  in  the  exercise  of  its  legislative  functions,  passed 
the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth,  but  was  without  power 
to  originate  legislation,  which  function  was  committed 
to  the  Council  of  the  Four  Hundred,  which  will  be  con- 
sidered presently.  The  Popular  Assembly  had  power 
to  call  on  all  magistrates  to  give  an  account  publicly, 
at  the  close  of  their  term  of  office,  of  the  manner  in 
which  they  had  administered  the  respective  trusts  con- 
fided to  them. 

Solon,  who  was  a  student  of  checks  and  balances  in 
government,  thought  it  wise  to  establish  a  counter- 
check on  the  power  of  the  people,  sitting  in  the  Public 
Assembly,  and  to  that  end  devised  the  Council  of  the 
Four  Hundred,  consisting  of  one  hundred  from  each  of 
the  four  tribes.  But  members  of  this  Council  were 
chosen  from  the  three  wealthy  classes,  and  were  elected 
annually  by  the  Popular  Assembly.  It  was  an  advisory 
body,  merely,  with  exclusive  authority  to  originate  all 
legislation.  It  could  frame  laws,  but  could  not  enact 
them.  Its  powers  ceased  when  the  measures  they 
framed  were  submitted  to  the  Public  Assembly,  which 
alone  had  authority  to  ratify  or  reject  all  proposed 
legislation.  As  the  Public  Assembly  was  both  a  legis- 
lative and  judicial  body,  every  member  had  a  right  to 
take  part  in  debate,  and  to  express  his  views  upon  all 


138 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


THE  pisistratidj: 


139 


questions  brought  before  it.     Thus  Solon  accorded  to 
all  the  right  of  free  speech. 

Such  was  the  Constitution  of  Solon,  not  perfect  by 
any  means,  nor  could  perfection  be  expected,  since  noth- 
ing is  ever  perfect.  But  the  government  framed  by 
him  was  far  from  a  democracy.  It  was  a  sort  of  re- 
publican oligarchy,  perhaps  the  best,  that  was  possible 
at  that  critical  period  in  the  history  of  Attica.  Its 
principal  democratic  features,  consisted  in  the  right  of 
universal  suffrage  conferred  upon  the  electorate.  But 
that  right  did  not  permit  the  people  either  to  originate 
legislation,  or  to  choose  their  magistrates  and  rulers. 
The  latter  were  chosen  for  them  by  the  privileged 
classes,  whose  members  were  alone  eligible  to  office. 
The  people,  however,  were  permitted  to  go  through  the 
idle  form  of  casting  the  ballots,  which  ratified  the  choice 
of  the  oligarchy  for  the  officers  who  were  to  exercise 
the  powers  of  government.  True,  the  people  had  ex- 
clusive power  to  enact  all  laws,  but  they  could  vote  only 
for  or  against  such  laws  as  were  framed  for  them  by 
the  Council  of  the  Four  Hundred,  who  were  chosen 
only  from  the  privileged  classes. 

The  work  of  Solon  has  made  his  name  immortal. 
The  task  he  accomplished  was  a  long  stride  towards 
popular  government,  the  political  ideal  for  which  man- 
kind has  been  striving  through  the  ages.  The  Council 
of  the  Four  Hundred  whose  members  were  aristocrats, 
taken  from  the  privileged  classes,  and  the  dignified  and 
conservative  Council  of  the  Areopagus,  also  an  aristo- 
cratic body,  were  the  institutions  which  Solon  regarded 
as  the  sheet  anchors  of  the  Constitution,  and  which  he 
deemed  amply  sufficient  to  steady  the  ship  of  State,  and 
enable  it  to  ride  safely  through  the  stress  and  storm 
of  intestine  commotion,  and  political  revolution. 
Solon's  conception  of  the  delicate  task  he  undertook 
to  perform,  may  be  gathered  from  his  own  words. 
Here  is  his  comment  on  his  work :  "  I  gave  the  people," 


he  said,  "  as  much  strength  as  is  enough,  without 
taking  away  from  their  due  share,  or  adding  thereto. 
But  as  for  those  who  had  power,  and  the  splendor  of 
riches,  to  them  also  I  gave  counsel,  even  that  they 
should  not  uphold  violence.  And  I  stood  with  my 
strong  shield  spread  over  both  and  suffered  neither  to 
prevail  by  wrong." 

The  Constitution  of  Solon  remained  in  force  till  the 
time  of  Clisthenes,  a  period  of  over  seventy  years.  But 
though  it  brought  temporary  relief  from  commercial 
bondage  and  conferred  free  speech  and  universal  suf- 
frage, it  did  not  entirely  allay  the  discontent  which 
existed,  and  the  old  dissentions  among  the  dwellers  of 
the  Plain,  the  Shore  and  the  Mountain  became  active. 
Revolutions  followed  and  Pisistratus  finally  succeeded 
in  securing  the  reins  of  government  permanently,  and 
by  his  wise  and  humane  administration  in  which  he  pro- 
fessed reverence  for  the  Constitution  of  Solon,  he  so 
managed  affairs  as  to  retain  his  power,  until  his  death, 
B.  C.  527.  His  sons,  Hipparchus  and  Hippias,  known 
as  the  Pisistratidae,  succeeded  their  father  in  the  gov- 
ernment. Hipparchus  was  assassinated  B.  C.  514,  and 
Hippias  was  driven  into  exile  B.  C.  510.  Amid  the  in- 
testine commotions  resulting  from  the  efforts  of 
Hippias  to  secure  liis  restoration  to  power,  Clisthenes 
became  the  popular  leader  in  Athens.  The  secret  of 
his  success  was  his  outspoken  sympathy  with  the  polit- 
ical reforms  sought  by  the  people,  and  his  promise  to 
advocate  their  cause  and  give  them  the  sort  of  govern- 
ment they  asked.  He  kept  his  promise,  and  introduced 
a  new  constitution  based  upon  democratic  principles. 
His  reforms  entitle  him  to  rank  as  the  founder  of 
democracy  and  of  the  Attic  Commonwealth.  These 
reforms,  and  the  military  disturbances  under  which 
they  arose,  will  be  considered  in  the  following  chapter. 


H 


t'l 
It 


CHAPTER    IX 

USURPATION    OF    THE    PISISTRATID^ 
CONSTITUTION    OF   CLISTHENES 


—  THE 


(ARS  and  revolutions  occasioned  by  the 
'  usurpation  of  Pisistratus  and  his  two  sons, 
Hipparchus  and  Hippias,  which  extended 
over  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century, 
embrace  the  principal  historical  features  of 
Hellas,  mtermediate  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
of  Solon,  about  B.  C.  594,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
pohtical  reforms,  known  as  the  Constitution  of  Clis- 
thenes,  about  B.  C.  510-9. 

While  the  reforms  of  Solon  furnished  his  country- 
men temporary  relief,  they  went  too  far  to  suit  the  am- 
bitious aristocrats  and  not  far  enough  to  suit  the  dis- 
contented Hill-men  or  mountaineers,  who  possessed 
practically  no  property  and  constantly  sought  to  bring 
about  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  privileged  classes. 
This  discontent  furnished  an  opportunity  for  the  work 
of  demagogues  and  selfish  politicians,  who  were  seeking 
pohtical  power.  Factions  arose,  revolutions  were 
planned,  and  the  men  of  the  plain,  the  shore  and  the 
mountain,  were  involved  in  continual  strife.  Conspicu- 
ous among  the  political  leaders  of  the  time  was  Pisis- 
tratus, second  cousin  of  Solon,  who  had  also  been  his 
comrade  in  the  wars  between  Athens  and  Megara. 
During  the  absence  of  the  great  lawgiver  on  his  ex- 
tended travels,  through  the  world,  Pisistratus  seized  the 
Acropolis  and  became  the  ruler  of  Attica  (B.  C.  560). 
In  the  strife  which  ensued  he  was  twice  driven  from 

140 


CHARACTEE    OF    PISISTEATUS 


141 


power,  but  as  the  leader  of  the  mountaineers  or  Hill- 
men,  and  being  a  strong  advocate  of  democracy  and 
popular  government,  he  succeeded  in  retaining  the  su- 
preme power  in  the  State  until  his  death,  527  B.  C, 
thirty-three  years  after  his  first  usurpation.     He  ad- 
hered to  the  Constitution  of  Solon,  and  enacted  many 
wise  and  beneficent  laws   for  the  promotion   of   good 
order  and  morality.     He  was  a  man  of  refined  tastes, 
and  as  a  patron  of  literature  and  art,  was  surpassed 
only    by    the    illustrious    Pericles.      From   his    tongue 
dropped  honey,  and  he  sought  to  conciliate  the  masses 
by  making  their  political  yoke  easy  and  their  burdens 
light.     He  beautified  and  adorned  Athens,  and  to  him 
posterity  is  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  the  Iliad 
and    the    Odyssey.      The    poems    were    collected    and 
edited  by  a  body   of  literary   men,   under  his   direc- 
tion, and  published  in  the  form  in  which  we  now  have 
them. 

Landor  paints  his  character  in  fair  colors.  In  a 
supposititious  letter,  written  by  Pericles  to  Aspasia,  the 
Athenian  statesman  is  made  to  eulogize  the  most  be- 
nevolent despot  who,  in  that  age,  had  ever  attempted  to 
seize  the  reins  of  power.  "  Pisistratus,"  writes  Pericles, 
"  was  affectionate ;  the  rest  of  his  character  you  know 
as  well  as  I  do.  You  know  that  he  was  eloquent,  that 
he  was  humane,  that  he  was  contemplative,  that  he  was 
learned;  that  he  not  only  was  profuse  to  men  of 
genius,  but  cordial,  and  that  it  was  only  with  such  men 
he  was  familiar  and  intimate.  You  know  that  he  was 
the  greatest,  the  wisest,  the  most  virtuous,  excepting 
Solon  and  Lycurgus,  that  ever  ruled  any  portion  of  the 
human  race.  Is  it  not  happy  and  glorious  for  mortals, 
when,  instead  of  being  led  by  the  ears  under  the  clumsy 
and  violent  hand  of  vulgar  and  clamorous  adventurers, 
a  Pisistratus  leaves  the  volumes  of  Homer  and  the  con- 
versation of  Solon  for  them." 

Upon  the  death  of  Pisistratus,  his  son,  Hipparchus, 


142 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GBEECB 


m 


with  whom  was  associated  his  brother  Hlppias  (the 
brothers  being  designated  the  Pisistratidae),  continued 
the  mild  rule  of  their  father  which  alone  prevented 
political  uprisings,  and  made  the  people  measurably 
contented.  Hipparchus  was  also  a  man  of  letters  and 
a  liberal  patron  of  learning  and  art.  The  most  dis- 
tinguished men  of  the  age  visited  him  and  attended  his 
feasts  and  banquets.  Among  them  was  Simonides,  the 
poet,  and  Anacreon,  whose  elegant  ballads  and  con- 
vivial lyrics  still  continue  to  charm  and  captivate.  The 
Pisistratidae,  by  reason  of  their  wealth  and  position, 
dwelt  in  luxury,  and  indulged  in  dissolute  habits.  Their 
dissipation  finally  resulted  in  their  downfall.  Hip- 
parchus, at  a  public  festival,  grossly  insulted  the  sis- 
ter of  Harmodius,  a  young  Athenian  of  noble  family. 
The  latter,  in  company  with  his  friend  Aristogiton,  at- 
tacked and  slew  Hipparchus  (B.  C.  514).  Hippias 
continued  in  control  of  the  government,  but  the  violent 
death  of  his  brother  made  him  suspicious  and  morose, 
and  instead  of  the  elegant  gentleman  of  leisure,  and 
the  professed  friend  of  the  people,  and  supporter  of 
the  Constitution  of  Solon,  he  became  an  oppressor,  an 
offensive  tyrant  and  despot. 

The  conspicuous  figures  which  the  historian  throws 
upon  the  canvas  in  bold  outline  during  this  period  in- 
clude Hippias,  the  ambitious  usurper,  seeking  to  retain 
his  power;  Isagoras  and  Chsthenes,  the  heads  of  the 
powerful  families  who  were  seeking  to  depose  him,  and 
the  joint  rulers  and  kings  of  Sparta,  Cleomenes  and 
Demaratus.  Clisthencs  was  of  the  family  of  the  Alc- 
m«onida?,  and  was  their  political  leader.  He  was  a 
grandson  of  Clisthenes,  tyrant  of  Sicyon.  His  family, 
the  Alcmaeonidffi,  were  the  political  rivals  of  the  house 
of  Isagoras,  but  in  view  of  the  fact  that  both  families 
desired  the  expulsion  of  Hippias,  they,  for  the  time 
being,  subordinated  their  dissensions  and  united  their 
efforts   for  the   attainment   of   their   common    object. 


INFLUENCE    OF    THE    ALCMiEONIDJ: 


143 


The   AlcmseonidcT,    also,    through    their    influence   with 
priests  of  the  temple  of  Delphi,  were  enabled  to  enlist 
in  their  behalf  the  influence  of  Sparta.     Though  the 
Spartans   were   most   friendly   to   Hippias  they    were, 
through  superstition  or  reverence  for  the  Delphic  ora- 
cle, obliged  reluctantly  to  lend  a  willing  ear  to  the  over- 
tures made  to  them  by  Clisthenes.     The  latter's  family 
secured  their  influence  with  the  aid  of  a  venal  and  cor- 
rupt priesthood  by  the  liberality  they  displayed  in  exe- 
cuting their  contract  to  rebuild  the  Delphian  temple, 
which  was  by  accident  destroyed  by  fire  B.  C.  648.   This 
edifice,  sacred  to  Apollo,  was  under  the  protecting  care 
of  the  Amphictyonic  Council,  composed  of  representa- 
tives from  all  parts  of  Hellas.     Through  the  religious 
zeal  of  the  people  the  Council  succeeded  in  securing  for 
the  rebuilding  of  the  sacred  edifice,  a  sum  equivalent  to 
more  than  half  a  million  dollars.      The   contract  was 
awarded  to  the  Alcmaeonidse,  who  had  been  in  exile  since 
the  third  and  final  usurpation  of  Pisistratus.     In  order 
to  win  favor  with  the  religious  orders,  they  constructed 
the  front  of  the  temple  of  the  choicest  Parian  marble, 
though    the    contract    specified    only    plain    limestone. 
They   expended   also   large    sums    in   beautifying   and 
adorning  the  edifice,  and  contributed  liberally  to  the 
support  of  the  priesthood.     By  their  munificence  and 
liberality,  the  temple  was  finished   about   B.    C.   512, 
about    two    years    after    the    death    of    Hipparchus. 
Through  intimate  associations,  incident  to  the  execu- 
tion of  their  contract  in  rebuilding  the  sacred  edifice, 
the  Alcmaeonidae  gained  great  favor  at  Delphi,  and  in- 
fluence with  the  Pythia  or  priestess  of  the  temple,  who 
espoused  their  cause  openly,  against  Hippias.     In  this 
way  the  Kings  of  Sparta  were  restrained  from  grant- 
ing aid  to  Hippias  who  persistently  sought  their  sup- 
port to  enable  them  to  defeat  the  designs  of  Clisthenes 
and  Isagoras,  and  sufiicient  pressure  from  Delphi  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  Lacedamonians   to   induce 


144 


MIIilTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


CLISTHENES   AN    EXILE 


145 


II 


them  to  take  sides  openly  with  the  Alcmaeonid®  and  the 
house  of  Isagoras,  in  the  efforts  of  the  latter  to  depose 
the  usurper. 

As  a  result  of  priestly  influence  Sparta  was  induced 
to  send  an  army  into  Attica,  under  Cleomenes  to  dis- 
lodge Hippias.  During  this  campaign,  Hippias  en- 
deavored to  send  away  his  children  secretly,  that  they 
might  find  an  asylum  in  Asia  Minor.  Fortunately,  for 
the  Athenians,  the  offspring  of  Hippias  fell  into  the 
hands  of  their  enemies.  In  order  to  save  them  Hip- 
pias abdicated  his  power  and  sought  refuge  in  the 
Troad  (B.  C.  508).  As  a  voluntary  exile  he  visited  the 
Court  of  Artaphernes,  Satrap  of  Lydia,  at  Sardis,  to 
invoke  his  aid  in  his  cause  against  the  liberties  of  his 
people. 

The  abdication  of  Hippias  left  the  affairs  of  Attica 
to  the  rival  factions  headed  by  Isagoras  and  Clisthenes, 
with  a  Lacedamonian  army  as  a  factor  in  the  political 
problem.  Although  Clisthenes  had  been  instrumental 
in  securing  the  assistance  of  Sparta  to  enable  him  to 
depose  Hippias,  his  following  had  no  intention  of  al- 
lowing the  Peloponnesians  to  gain  a  foothold  in  Attica. 
On  the  other  hand,  Isagoras,  who  represented  the  party 
of  the  plain,  was  desirous  of  reestabhshing  an  olig- 
archy, as  it  had  existed  before  the  time  of  Solon.  In 
this  enterprise  the  Spartans  were  in  accord,  and 
secretly  aided  the  plans  of  Isagoras.  The  latter  sought 
to  unite  the  conservative  party  of  the  Plain-men,  in 
their  efforts  to  defeat  the  party  of  Clisthenes.  The 
latter  instituted  a  vigorous  campaign  at  the  head  of 
the  mountaineers  or  Hill-men,  who  sought  to  enlarge 
the  liberties  secured  to  them  under  the  Constitution  of 
Solon,  and  to  establish  in  Attica,  an  absolute  democ- 
racy. The  old  Shore-party,  which  had  almost  disin- 
tegrated, was  as  far  as  possible  united  by  Clisthenes 
in  his  vigorous  efforts  to  defeat  his  rival.  He  infused 
new  life  into  these  old  factions  and  put  himself  at  the 


head  of  the  party  of  progress.  His  slogan  was  sub- 
stantially that  of  the  leaders  of  the  modem  French 
Revolution  who  adopted  the  motto.  Liberty,  Equality, 
Fraternity.  Though  at  heart  an  aristocrat,  yet  to 
gain  power  Clisthenes  promised  the  masses  that  he 
would  abolish  privilege,  and  inaugurate  a  political  sys- 
tem designed  to  make  all  men  equal  before  the  law.  His 
efforts  created  intense  enthusiasm,  and  amid  the  re- 
joicings of  the  masses  at  being  liberated  from  the  yoke 
of  Hippias,  Clisthenes  became  the  man  of  the  hour  and 
the  democratic  leader  of  the  Attic  people. 

Isagoras,  as  champion  of  the  aristocracy,  found  him- 
self at  the  head  of  a  minority  party,  as  the  leader  of 
a  forlorn  hope.  His  chance  of  success  lay  in  the  sup- 
port of  a  Spartan  army.  He  was  the  personal  friend 
of  Cleomenes,  and  found  no  difficulty  in  enlisting  the 
support  of  his  troops,  in  his  efforts  to  defeat  the  popu- 
lar party,  and  the  reforms  promised  by  his  rival  Clis- 
thenes, and  with  the  aid  of  the  Spartan  king,  sought 
to  usurp  the  supreme  power  in  the  State.  At  the  re- 
quest of  Isagoras,  Cleomenes,  whom  it  is  claimed  shared 
the  favors  of  tlie  beautiful  wife  of  Isagoras,  the  Spar- 
tan Ephors,  sent  a  herald  to  Athens  and  demanded  the 
expulsion  of  the  Alcmaeonidae.  Clisthenes  was  not  strong 
enough  to  resist  a  Spartan  army,  acting  in  combina- 
tion with  adherents  of  Isagoras,  and  went  into  exile  to 
await  the  developments  of  the  Isagoras-Cleomenes 
conspiracy,  anticipating  when  the  period  of  reaction 
came,  to  return  to  Athens,  as  the  liberator  of  Attica 
and  the  saviour  of  his  country. 

The  secret  aim  of  Cleomenes  undoubtedly  was  to  put 
Isagoras,  who  was  his  creature,  in  power,  undermine 
his  authority,  and  ultimately  make  Attica  a  Pelopon- 
nesian  state. 

After  the  departure  of  Clisthenes,  Isagoras,  under 
the  protection  of  Spartan  troops,  was  elected  Archon. 
In    furtherance    of   the   designs    of   the    conspirators, 


146 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GBEECE 


Isagoras,  upon  assuming  power,  sent  the  Alcm»onid« 
and  their  sympathizers  among  the  wealthy  classes,  into 
exile,  including  about  seven  hundred  families,  whom 
he  regarded  as  hostile  to  his  designs,  and  in  sympathy 
with  the  party  of  progress.  The  new  Archon  and  his 
party  began  to  tear  down  what  Solon  and  Clisthenes 
had  built  up.  Our  knowledge  as  to  the  precise  time 
when  the  Constitution  of  Chsthenes  became  operative 
is  not  accurate,  but  the  best  authorities  indicate  that 
the  reforms  of  Clisthenes  were  made  immediately  after 
the  expulsion  of  Hippias,  and  before  Isagoras  was 
raised  to  power  with  the  aid  of  Spartan  arms. 

When  Isagoras  assumed  the  arclionship,  he  sought 
to  abolish  the  Council  of  the  Four  Hundred,  established 
by  Solon,  which  had  been  increased  by  Clisthenes  to 
Five  Hundred,  and  inaugurated  a  new  Council  of 
Three  Hundred,  based  on  the  Doric  number  three,  in- 
stead of  the  Ionic  number  four.  This  new  body  was 
composed  exclusively  of  those  in  sympathy  with  the 
establishment  of  an  oligarchy.  The  policy  of  Isagoras 
opened  the  eyes  of  the  people.  His  design,  with  the 
military  aid  of  Sparta,  to  overthrow  the  Constitution 
of  Solon  and  the  reforms  of  Clisthenes,  and  to  destroy 
the  liberties  of  Greece,  became  apparent. 

Public  opinion  became  aroused.  Isagoras  was  every- 
where hated  and  detested.  Inflamed  by  the  fear  that  a 
despotism  more  onerous  than  that  of  Hippias  was 
about  to  be  established,  the  masses  broke  out  into  open 
rebellion  and  armed  resistance.  The  Council  of  Five 
Hundred  refused  to  be  dissolved  at  the  behest  of  the 
new  Archon.  The  revolution  was  exceedingly  popular. 
The  movement  suddenly  gained  a  momentum  that  noth- 
ing could  resist.  Isagoras,  in  fear  of  his  life,  retreated 
into  the  citadel  on  the  Acropolis  for  safety.  Cleomenes 
did  not  have  the  approval  of  the  Delphic  oracle,  in  his 
support  of  Isagoras,  against  the  Alcma?onid«,  and  find- 
ing his  army  short  of  provisions,  and  wholly  inade- 


ACTIVITY    OF    CLEOMENES 


147 


quate,  he  quit  Attica,  temporarily  leaving  Isagoras  to 
his  fate. 

The  withdrawal  of  Spartan  troops  and  the  deposi- 
tion of  Isagoras  was  followed  by  the  recall  of  the  Alc- 
maeonidae,  and  Clisthenes  again  became  the  leader  of  the 
party  of  progress. 

The  final  struggle  for  the  liberties  of  Attica  now 
assumed  formidable  proportions.  Cleomenes  secured 
the  support  of  the  Ephors,  in  furtherance  of  his 
schemes,  and  through  his  influence,  the  Lacedamonians 
were  induced  to  declare  war  against  Athens.  He  as- 
sembled a  large  army,  augmented  by  the  Peloponnesian 
allies,  including  troops  from  Corinth  and  ^gina,  and 
prepared  to  enter  Attica.  The  exiled  Hippias  now 
became  active.  Cleomenes  sought  aid  alsa  of  the  cities 
on  the  northern  frontier  of  Attica,  to  act  in  conjunc- 
tion with  his  own  forces  from  the  Peloponnese  on  the 
south,  and  endeavored  to  establish  a  confederacy  in 
furtherance  of  his  scheme  to  ruin  Athens.  To  this 
end  he  intrigued  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  Thebes, 
northern  Beotia,  and  the  Chalcidians,  the  nearest  neigh- 
bors of  Beotia  on  the  east,  who  occupied  the  territory 
at  the  Euripus  on  the  island  of  Eubea,  which,  at  Chal- 
cis,  is  separated  from  the  mainland  by  the  narrowest 
part  of  the  Eubean  channel. 

Cleomenes  was  careful,  however,  when  he  collected 
his  Peloponnesian  forces,  not  to  disclose  his  ultimate 
design  to  establish  Isagoras  as  tyrant  of  Athens.  He 
marched  to  the  territory  of  Eleusis,  on  the  Saronic 
gulf  on  the  southern  frontier  of  Attica,  about  twelve 
miles  northwest  of  Athens.  At  Eleusis  dissensions 
arose  in  his  army.  It  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
allies  that  the  real  purpose  of  Cleomenes  was  to  put 
Isagoras,  his  own  creature,  in  power  at  Athens.  Selfish 
interests,  dictated  by  commercial  rivalry,  caused  the 
Corinthians  to  withdraw  from  the  enterprise.  They 
feared  not  only  the  advantage  that  might  accrue  to 


148 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GKEECE 


ATHENIANS    SEEK    PEESIAN   AID 


149 


^gina,  their  commercial  rivals,  but  also  the  power  that 
would  inure  to  the  benefit  of  the  Peloponnesians. 
They  refused  to  advance  and  returned  to  Corinth.  By 
a  strange  coincidence,  Demaratus,  King  of  Sparta,  who 
reigned  jointly  with  Cleomenes,  and  who  subsequently 
piloted  the  hosts  of  Xerxes  into  Greece,  was  instru- 
mental on  this  occasion  in  saving  Athens.  A  quarter 
of  a  century  later  this  same  Demaratus  then  an  exile 
in  the  Persian  Court,  accompanied  the  army  of  Xerxes 
in  his  campaign  to  destroy  Athens  and  subjugate 
Hellas.  He  quarrelled  openly  with  his  colleague  Cleom- 
enes on  the  plain  of  Eleusis,  refused  further  to  par- 
ticipate ill  the  undertaking  and  returned  to  Sparta. 
The  remaining  allies,  when  they  observed  that  their 
commanders  had  disagreed,  and  that  the  Corinthians 
had  returned  to  their  homes,  abandoned  the  enterprise. 
Cleomenes  found  his  campaign  at  an  end,  and  in  the 
face  of  these  dissensions,  the  Dorian  invasion  of  Attica 
failed  utterly. 

The  Athenians,  being  no  longer  in  danger  of  inva- 
sion from  the  south,  determined  to  take  revenge  on 
their  enemies  in  the  north.  Before  the  Boeotians  could 
make  a  junction  and  unite  with  the  Chalcidians,  they 
planned  to  attack  them  separately  and  destroy  them  in 
detail.  They  moved  rapidly  upon  the  Boeotians,  whom 
they  defeated  with  great  slaughter,  and  took  seven  hun- 
dred prisoners.  On  the  same  day  they  fell  upon  the 
Chalcidians,  whom  they  also  defeated,  confiscated  their 
territory  and  apportioned  it  among  Athenians,  four 
thousand  of  whom  settled  on  their  lands  in  Eubea. 

The  victorious  Athenians  returned  with  their  pris- 
oners in  chains,  on  whom  they  set  a  ransom  of  two  minie 
for  each  prisoner.  With  part  of  the  ransom  money 
they  constructed  a  brazen  chariot  with  four  horses 
which  Herodotus  says,  "  stands  on  the  left  hand  as 
you  first  enter  the  portico  in  the  Acropolis."  He  says 
the  chains  with  wliich  the  Beotians  were  bound  were 


hung  up  in  the  Acropolis  where  they  were  still  to  be 
seen  in  his  day.  On  the  brazen  chariot  was  engraved 
the  following  inscription :  "  The  sons  of  the  Athenians, 
having  conquered  the  nations  of  the  Boeotians  and  Chal- 
cidians in  feats  of  war,  quelled  their  insolence  in  a  dark 
iron  dungeon,  and  with  a  tithe  of  the  spoils  dedicated 
these  steeds  to  Pallas." 

At  a  critical  juncture,  when  the  Peloponnesian  anti- 
Athenian  alliance  was  formed,  shortly  after  the  return 
of  Clisthenes  from  exile,  ambassadors  were  sent  to  Sar- 
dis  to  solicit  the  aid  of  Artaphernes,  and  bring  a  Per- 
sian army  to  Athens  to  defeat  the  combined  forces  of 
the  Peloponnesian  confederacy.  Some  modern  histo- 
rians, we  believe  unjustly,  declare  that  this  embassy 
was  sent  through  the  influence  of  Clisthenes  to  subserve 
his  own  ends.  The  ambassadors  were  told  by  the  Per- 
sian satrap,  that  the  Athenians,  in  order  to  receive  aid 
from  Darius,  must  become  his  subjects.  When  the  pro- 
posed treaty  with  Artaphernes  was  submitted  to  the 
people,  it  was  scornfully  rejected  by  the  Ecclesia,  com- 
posed of  the  ten  tribes  under  the  new  constitution  of 
Clisthenes,  assembled  on  the  hill  Pnyx.  The  Athenians 
who  had  long  striven  against  tyranny  in  their  efforts 
to  establish  a  democracy,  refused  to  purchase  respite 
from  destruction  and  political  annihilation  at  such  a 
price.  They  preferred  to  perish  in  war  waged  by 
Greeks  against  Greeks,  contending  for  the  establish- 
ment of  free  institutions,  than  abide  under  the  shadow 
of  a  Persian  despot. 

Whether  the  attempt  to  enlist  Persian  aid  was 
brought  about  by  Clisthenes,  as  part  of  a  design  to 
restore  the  family  of  the  Alcmseonidae  to  power,  estab- 
lish an  oligarchy,  and  thereby  defeat  the  plans  of  Hip- 
pias,  who  was  seeking  the  aid  of  Darius  to  regain  his 
supremacy  in  Athens ;  or  whether  it  was  an  attempt  in 
good  faith  to  save  Athens  from  impending  ruin,  at  the 
hands  of  its  combined  enemies,  must  remain  the  subject 


1& 


ISO 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


REFORMS    OF    CLISTHENES 


151 


of  conjecture.  However  this  may  be,  the  Attic  com- 
monwealth which  had  now  become  a  democracy,  re- 
jected the  proposal  of  Persian  aid  as  an  insult,  and  ad- 
ministered a  stinging  rebuke  to  the  ambassadors,  who 
were  responsible  for  it.  The  attempt  only  served  to 
stimulate  their  patriotism  and  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  free  government. 

If  we  may  judge  Clisthcnes  by  the  work  he  accom- 
plished in  organizing  the  ten  tribes,  and  establishing  in 
Attica  a  democratic  commonwealth,  the  imputation  that 
he  deliberately  sought  an  alliance  with  Persia  to  estab- 
lish an  oligarchy  for  his  own  aggrandizement,  is  a 
slander  upon  the  fair  name  of  this  popular  leader,  who 
was  indeed  the  political  Moses  of  the  Athenians.  The 
assumption  that  Clisthcnes,  while  building  up  a  democ- 
racy, was  all  the  while  planning  to  tear  it  down,  and 
establish  an  oligarchy  on  its  ruins,  is  wholly  unwar- 
ranted by  the  evidence  which  the  scanty  records  of  the 
history  of  that  time  afford.  We  are  not  informed  as 
to  what  public  services  Clisthcnes  rendered  in  the  clos- 
ing years  of  his  life.  After  the  proposed  alliance  with 
Persia  was  rejected  by  the  Athenians,  his  name  dis- 
appears from  the  page  of  history. 

The  work  of  Clisthcnes  and  the  main  features  of  his 
constitution  remain  to  be  considered.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  his  measures  were  thorough.  His  principal 
reforms  were  radical,  and  far  reaching,  and  established 
the  foundations  of  a  genuine  democracy,  broadened 
somewhat  by  Aristides  and  finally  assuming  all  the  ele- 
ments of  a  pure  democracy  under  the  guiding  hand  of 
Pericles. 

If  the  aim  of  Solon  was  to  make  all  men  politically 
equal,  he  failed  entirely  to  accomplish  that  result. 
Under  his  reforms  the  political  power  remained  with  the 
Eupatrida?,  who  alone  were  eligible  to  the  Archonship, 
the  Senate  of  the  Four  Hundred  and  the  Council  of  the 
Areopagus.    Universal  suffrage,  which  was  bestowed  by 


the  Constitution  of  Solon,  was  not  a  weapon  sufficient 
in  itself  to  control  to  any  great  extent  the  power  of  the 
wealthy  classes.  Their  political  strength  lay  in  their 
exclusive  right  to  administer  every  important  office, 
and  draft  every  law  which  was  submitted  to  the  Public 
Assembly.  So  long  as  they  alone  had  power  to  name 
all  candidates  for  the  important  offices,  it  became  im- 
material, so  far  as  they  were  concerned,  who  cast  the 
ballots  to  elect  them. 

The  most  radical  reform  of  Clisthcnes  was  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  four  Ionic  tribes,  based  on  the  Ionic  num- 
ber four,  which  remained  unchanged  under  the  Solonian 
constitution,  and  the  substitution  of  new  tribes  and  new 
political  divisions  based  on  the  decimal  system.  Clis- 
thcnes established  ten  tribes,  and  divided  Attica  into 
one  hundred  townships  called  denies.  The  unit  of  the 
tribe  was  the  deme.  The  tribe  was  the  unit  of  the  State. 
The  entire  commonwealth  comprised  ten  tribes,  and 
the  membership  of  each  tribe  embraced  ten  demes.  Ten 
demes  constituted  a  tribe,  and  ten  tribes  constituted 
the  State. 

No  person  who  was  not  a  member  of  one  of  the  four 
Ionic  tribes,  under  the  Constitution  of  Solon,  could 
exercise  the  rights  of  citizenship.  Under  the  system 
of  the  ten  tribes,  established  by  Clisthcnes,  resident 
aliens  were  permitted  to  enroll  in  some  deme,  become 
citizens  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  exercise  the  right  to 
vote.  Thus  the  citizenship  was  enlarged  so  as  to  in- 
clude traders,  merchants  and  others  engaged  in  com- 
mercial pursuits,  who  came  to  Athens  to  reside,  and 
carry  on  their  various  enterprises.  Even  slaves,  in 
some  instances,  according  to  Aristotle,  might  become 
citizens.  Thus  Athens  presently  became  a  prosperous 
cosmopolitan,  commercial  centre. 

The  new  tribal  arrangement,  in  view  of  the  object 
sought  to  be  accomplished,  was  ingenious.  The  design 
of  Clisthcnes  was  to  break  up  cliques  and  factions,  pre- 


152 


MIUTART   ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


vent  as  far  as  possible  separate  tribal  interests,  and  the 
ascendancy  of  one  tribe  over  another.  To  this  end  it 
was  provided  that  the  territory  of  deines,  belonging  to 
the  same  tribe,  should  not  be  contiguous.  In  order,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  break  uj)  the  old  division  of  parties 
which  included  the  Hill-nieti,  the  men  of  the  plain  and 
the  men  of  the  shore,  Clisthenes  sought  to  mould  the 
citizens  of  the  Attic  commonwealth  into  a  homogeneous 
electorate,  so  arranged  that  mountain  denies,  shore 
demes,  and  plain  denies,  should  be  found  in  the  same 
tribe.  No  tribe,  therefore,  was  made  up  exclusively  of 
contiguous  denies.  To  stimulate  patriotic  devotion,  and 
inspire  Hellenic  pride,  each  tribe  was  named  for  some 
god  or  hero  of  antiquity,  the  memory  of  whose  achieve- 
ments in  war  was  embalmed  in  the  poems  of  Homer. 
These  were  the  names  selected  for  the  ten  tribes:  Erech- 
theis,  ^geis,  Pandionis,  Leontis,  Acamantis,  (Eneis, 
Mantis,  Antiochis,  Cecropis,  and  Hippothoontis.  These 
are  the  ten  heroes,  for  whom  the  respective  tribes  were 
named:  Erechtheus,  iEgeus,  Pandion,  Leos,  Acamas, 
(Eneus,  Cecrops,  Hippothoon,  Ajax  and  Antiochus. 
We  read  in  subsequent  history  that  Themistocles  be- 
longed to  the  tribe  of  Leontis,  Aristides  to  the  tribe  of 
Antiochis  and  Pericles  to  the  tribe  of  Acamantis.  The 
names  given  to  the  demes  were  derived  from  plants  and 
flowers. 

Patriarchal  usages  were  abolished.  Every  citizen 
was  entitled  to  civic  rights  without  regard  to  birth  or 
descent,  and,  so  far  as  the  suffrage  was  concerned, 
without  regard  to  property  qualifications.  Every  citi- 
zen was  required  to  be  enrolled  in  his  deme.  The 
Mayor,  or  ofHcial  head  of  every  deme,  was  designated 
the  demarch,  whose  duty  it  was  to  keep  the  register  of 
all  those  under  his  jurisdiction,  who  were  entitled  to  the 
franchise.  No  matter  where  an  Attic  citizen  might 
reside,  he  continued  to  be  a  member  of  the  deme  in 
which  he  was  originally  enrolled.     The  actual  locality 


il 


8TEATEGI    ELECTIVE 


153 


of  his  residence  was  not  material,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  tribe  met  only  in  Athens  on  the  Pnyx,  a  hill 
west  of  the  Acropolis,  where  all  the  tribes  assembled  in 
the  open  air  ten  times  a  year,  in  the  great  Public  As- 
sembly, known  also  as  the  Ecclcsia,  where  all  legisla- 
ture functions  were  exorcised.  When  thus  assembled 
they  constituted  the  demos,  or  Commonwealth  of  Attica, 
and  the  entire  electorate  of  the  State.  Every  member 
of  the  commonwealth  was  personally  represented,  he- 
cause,  theoretically  at  least,  every  member  was  sup- 
posed to  attend  the  Ecclesia  not  through  the  proxy  of 
a  chosen  representative,  but  in  person. 

Under  the  Constitution  of  Solon,  the  elective 
franchise  was  confined  exclusively  to  the  members  of 
the  four  Ionic  tribes,  which  embraced  for  religious 
purposes,  groups  and  societies  termed  gentes  and 
fratres.  The  bond  of  the  former  was  founded  on  kin- 
ship, propinquity  in  blood  and  family  ties.  The  lat- 
ter, known  as  fratres,  consisted  of  congre^rations  or 
religious  societies,  who,  except  when  the  entire  nation 
periodically  celebrated  their  religious  games  and  fes- 
tivals, worshipped  together  in  the  celebration  of  their 
particular  customs,  rites  and  festivals.  The  gentes  and 
fratres,  however,  under  the  Constitution  of  Clisthenes, 
possessed  no  political  significance. 

The  archonship  remained  elective  as  it  had  been 
under  the  Constitution  of  Solon.  Nine  archons  were 
chosen  annually,  but  their  jurisdiction  and  powers 
were  materially  abridged.  Under  the  new  law  the  mili- 
tary office  of  Stratcgus  was  created.  The  strategi  con- 
sisted of  ten  generals,  one  from  each  tribe,  including 
also  two  hipparchs,  who  were  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  cavalry.  Under  the  Constitution  of  Solon,  the 
supreme  command  of  the  army  was  vested  in  the  third 
archon,  known  as  the  archon  polemarch.  Under  the 
new  law,  however,  the  third  archon  was  ex  officio  a  mem- 
ber of  the  council  of  the  Strategi,  and  in  all  matters, 


i, 


; 


154 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


JURY   SYSTEM 


155 


if  the  council  was  equally  divided  by  a  vote,  the  pole- 
march  was  entitled  to  the  casting  vote.  This  power 
was  exercised  by  the  polemarch  Callimachus,  at  the 
battle  of  Marathon,  where  the  strategi  were  equally 
divided.  The  vote  of  C^allinmchus  on  that  occasion  de- 
cided the  destiny  of  Athens.  The  third  archon  was  ac- 
corded also  the  distinguished  honor  of  commanding 
the  right  wing  in  battle.  The  command  of  the  army 
was  given  to  the  strategi  severally,  in  rotation,  each 
strategus  exercising  the  command  for  one  day. 

The  powers  of  the  archons  were  abridged  further 
by  a  new  jury  system,  designated  the  Heli?ea,  in  whom 
was  vested  all  judicial  power,  except  such  as  remained 
in  the  Court  of  the  Areopagus,  which  was  confined 
chiefly  to  certain  cases  of  homicide,  and  matters  of  re- 
ligion and  morals.  The  powers  of  the  Heliaea  will  be 
considered  presently. 

The  Senate  or  Council  of  the  Four  Hundred  was  re- 
tained, but  its  membership  was  thrown  open  to  all  citi- 
zens. Under  the  constitution  of  Solon  only  citizens  be- 
longing  to  the  first  property  class  were  eligible  to  mem- 
bership in  that  body.  Under  the  new  law,  the  Senate 
increased  to  ^ve  hundred,  including  fifty  members  from 
each  of  the  ten  tribes,  who  were  chosen  annually  by  the 
Ecclesia.  A  body  of  fifty  senators  including  ten  from 
each  tribe,  presided  daily  over  the  deliberation  of  the 
Senate  and  the  Ecclesia,  ten  being  chosen  to  preside 
each  day.  Of  these  ten  presiding  officers  one  was  chosen 
by  lot  each  day  to  act  as  chairman,  both  in  the  Senate 
and  in  the  Ecclesia.  While  so  acting,  this  chairman 
was  entrusted  for  the  day  with  the  keys  of  the  Acropolis 
and  the  treasury  located  in  the  temple  of  Erechtheus 
and  was  also  given  the  custody  of  the  public  seal  of  the 
Commonwealth. 

The  Ecclesia  met  ten  times  a  year,  or  once  every 
month,  as  the  Attic  year  consisted  of  ten  months.  The 
month  was  called  a  "  prytany."     Mr.  Grote  observes 


that  the  year  consisted  of  twelve  lunar  months  or  354! 
days.  Under  Clisthenes,  the  decimal  system  governed 
the  division  of  time,  and  of  the  ten  months  or  prytanies, 
six  contained  35,  and  four  36  days  each.  The  prytany 
or  month  was  divided  into  R\e  weeks,  of  seven  days 
each.  "  In  the  intercalated  years  of  thirteen  months," 
says  Mr.  Grote,  "  the  number  of  days  was  thirty-eight 
and  thirty-nine  respectively. 

The  ten  senators  whose  chairman  was  chosen  by  lot 
daily  presided  over  the  Ecclesia  for  a  week.  There 
being  ^ve  weeks  in  a  prytany  of  the  fifty  senators 
chosen  to  preside  for  the  month,  five  senators  from 
each  tribe  acted  in  the  presiding  body  during  the 
prytany.  Ten  of  these  senators  presided  during  each 
of  the  ^ve  weeks  respectively. 

This  Senate  or  Council  of  Five  Hundred  was  the 
executive  Committee  of  the  Ecclesia,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  preside  over  its  deliberations,  in  the  manner  indi- 
cated prepare  legislation  to  be  brought  before  it  for 
action  and  summon  that  body  to  assemble. 

The  new  jury  system  instituted  by  Clisthenes  was 
termed  the  Heliaea.  From  the  entire  electorate  6,000 
citizens  were  annually  chosen  by  lot  to  perform  jury 
duty,  600  being  chosen  from  each  of  the  ten  tribes. 
These  jurymen  were  called  dikasts.  No  citizen  under 
thirty  years  of  age  was  eligible  to  the  dikastry.  The 
dikasts  were  divided  into  ^ve  panels  called  decuries, 
each  decury  consisting  of  500  jurymen.  The  remain- 
ing 1,000  dikasts  not  assigned  to  a  specific  decury 
were  kept  in  reserve  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  decuries 
caused  by  death,  disability  or  absence.  When  assigned 
to  duty  and  sworn  in,  the  dikast  was  given  a  tablet  or 
ticket  on  which  was  engraved  his  name,  the  deme  in 
which  he  was  enrolled,  and  the  letter  designating  the 
particular  panel  or  decury  to  which  he  had  been  as- 
signed; as  for  example  D  designating  the  decury; 
Diodors,  name  of  the  dikast;   Phrearrios,  designating 


I?' 

I* 


i 


156 


MILITARY   ANNAIJ!   OF   GREECE 


LAW    OF    OSTRACISM 


rS7 


his  dcnic.  This  is  a  transcript  taken  from  a  decury 
ticket  which  was  dug  up  in  Athens  in  recent  years. 
(Boesckh-Corp.  Inscrip.) 

The  dikasts  had  jurisdiction  of  all  important  cases, 
and  hy  their  verdict  in  any  given  case  disposed  of  all 
questions  of  law  and  fact,  thus  exercising  judicial  func- 
tions, as  well  as  ministerial  duties.  Under  our  modern 
system  of  jurisprudence,  the  functions  of  the  jury  arc 
confined  solely  to  deciding  questions  of  fact.  The  pre- 
siding justice,  a  memher  of  the  judiciary,  is  given  ex- 
clusive jurisdiction  to  decide  all  cfuestions  of  law,  ex- 
cept in  cases  of  libel,  where  the  jury  may  consider  both 
(questions  of  law  and  fact.  The  verdict  of  dikasts  in 
any  given  case  was  conclusive,  and  it  seems  that  from 
it  there  was  no  appeal. 

When  court  assembled  and  defendant  was  called  upon 
to  answer,  he  was  represented  by  a  lawyer,  an  advocate 
or  counsellor,  who  was  entitled  to  address  the  dikasts, 
on  beh.'df  of  his  client.  This  same  right  was  accorded 
also  to  the  public  prosecutor  or  counsel  for  the  plaintiff 
in  a  civil  action.  One  of  the  six  inferior  archons,  pre- 
sided at  the  trial.  As  the  archon  could  not  pass  upon 
questions  of  law  or  fact,  his  duties  were  presumably 
confined  to  maintaining  order,  regulating  details  of 
procedure,  and  preserving  the  dignity  which  is  an  essen- 
tial accompaniment  to  a  solemn  adjudication  involving 
the  hfe,  liberty  or  property  of  the  citizen. 

In  order  that  no  member  of  the  panel  might  know 
beforehand  in  what  case  he  was  to  sit,  or  which  of  the 
archons  would  preside  over  his  decury,  it  was  provided 
that  the  six  archons  should  select  by  lot  which  of  ten 
decuries  or  how  many  panels  should  sit,  and  which  of 
the  archons  should  preside  over  a  given  decury.  Such 
was  the  jury  system  in  the  times  of  Clisthenes. 

To  Clisthenes  is  attributed  also  the  law  of  ostra- 
cism, under  which  any  citizen,  by  a  majority  vote, 
provided  at  least  6,000  ballots  were  cast,  might  be  ex- 


patriated for  a  period  not  exceeding  ten  years.  This 
peculiar  statute  was  horn  of  fear  of  tyranny,  which  of 
all  political  conditions  the  Hellenes  dreaded  most.  The 
ostracism  was  a  vote  of  confidence  or  lack  of  confidence, 
which  was  given  or  withheld  by  a  fickle  electorate.  If 
less  than  6,000  ballots  were  cast,  the  election  was  void, 
and  there  could  be  no  ostracism.  In  other  words  no 
citizen  could  be  banished  unless  at  least  6,000  citizens 
participated  in  the  election.  The  ostracism  was  not 
devised  as  a  punishment  for  crime,  but  as  a  preventive 
remedy  to  destroy  the  political  ambition  of  an  indi- 
vidual leader,  or  public  spirited  citizen,  whose  influence 
it  was  feared  might  become  dangerous  to  the  State. 
Fear  that  undue  popularity  might  enable  an  unscrupu- 
lous and  ambitious  man  to  usurp  power  and  establish 
a  tyranny  on  the  ruins  of  democracy  and  thereby  be- 
come a  tyrant.  The  word  "  tyrant  "  used  at  this  period 
among  the  Hellenes  did  not  denote  individual  acts  of 
cruelty  or  measures  of  oppression,  or  despotic  conduct 
displayed  by  a  particular  ruler.  A  "  tyrant "  was  one 
who  presided  in  a  government  designated  a  tyranny  or 
oligarchy,  as  distinguished  from  a  democracy  or  a  re- 
publican form  of  government  under  which  all  citizens 
enjoyed  civil  and  political  liberty.  Banishment  was 
supposed  to  furnish  the  remedy  for  this  sort  of  polit- 
ical danger. 

In  order  to  ostracise  a  citizen,  an  election  was  held 
for  that  purpose.  The  voter  was  given  a  ballot  con- 
sisting of  a  shell  or  tile,  on  which  he  was  required  to 
write  the  name  of  the  objectionable  citizen,  whom  he 
wished  to  send  into  exile.  The  ballots  thus  prepared 
were  deposited  in  urns.  If  6,000  ballots  or  more  were 
cast,  the  name  written  on  a  majority  of  the  ballots, 
authorized  a  decree  of  ostracism. 

The  ostracism  was  in  effect  a  sort  of  political  lynch 
law  under  which  the  career  of  any  public  man,  however 
amiable  or  patriotic,  might,  through  the  machinations 


IS8 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECB 


i:| 


of  his  enemies,  be  brought  to  a  sudden  close,  and  the 
victim  forced  perhaps  to  end  his  days  in  exile.  The 
statute  might  with  propriety  have  been  entitled  "  An 
Act  to  permit  selfish  political  office  seekers  to  con- 
spire to  save  themselves  from  outlawry  by  combi- 
ning to  exile  an  innocent  citizen."  It  turned  out 
that  the  ostracism  was  frequently  invoked  by  a  danger- 
ous group  of  politicians,  who  feared  defeat  at  the  hands 
of  a  political  rival,  or  one  whose  wealth  or  influence  ex- 
posed them  to  the  envy  and  jealousy  of  those  less  for- 
tunate in  life.  It  did  not  hinder  political  factions  from 
combining  against  an  independent  leader,  who  refused 
to  be  governed  or  controlled  by  the  designs  of  selfish 
men,  seeking  only  their  personal  advancement.  This 
was  the  result  in  the  case  of  Aristides,  a  man  preemi- 
nently just,  and  possessing  the  highest  patriotism. 
Aristides  was  banished  by  his  political  foes,  led 
by  the  great  admiral  and  democrat  Themistocles. 
The  outlawry,  however,  was  revoked  and  the  exile 
recalled  when  the  army  of  Xerxes  was  approaching 
threatening  Athens.  Aristides  returned  in  time  to 
cooperate  with  Themistocles,  in  the  defeat  of  Xerxes 
at  Salamis. 

.  The  unsatisfactory  results  of  the  statute  was  later 
illustrated  in  the  case  of  Hyperbolus.  Alcibiades  and 
Nicias  were  political  rivals.  Both  began  to  be  feared 
by  the  people;  the  latter  by  reason  of  his  great 
wealth,  the  former  on  account  of  his  brilliant  talents, 
unscrupulous  and  reckless  conduct  and  dissipated 
habits.  Public  opinion  became  aroused,  and  it  was  evi- 
dent that  one  of  them  would  be  ostracised.  Both  men 
at  the  critical  juncture  used  their  influence  with  their 
followers  and  adherents  for  mutual  advantage,  and  so 
contrived  as  to  work  upon  the  prejudices  of  the  voters, 
so  as  to  involve  Hyperbolus.  When  the  ballots  were 
counted  Hyperbolus  was  the  victim  who  suffered  banish- 
ment and  became  an  outlaw.    This  result  clearly  demon- 


TAXES   AND    REVENUE 


159 


strated  that  the  law  worked  more  harm  than  good,  and 
led  to  its  repeal. 

Under  the  Constitution  of  Clisthenes,  the  collection 
of  taxes  and  revenues  which  flowed  into  the  public  ex- 
chequer was  entrusted  to  a  body  of  ten  magistrates 
known  as  the  Apodektae.  They  were  clothed  with 
power  not  only  to  receive,  but  also  to  disburse  the 
public  funds.  It  seems  that  all  public  revenues  were 
derived  from  a  graduated  income  tax  imposed  in  ac- 
cordance with  financial  ability  of  the  citizen,  who  were 
still  grouped  in  four  classes,  as  they  had  been  under 
the  Constitution  of  Solon,  supplemented  possibly  by  a 
graduated  land  and  commodity  tax.  Although  the 
Athenians  were  an  enterprising  commercial  people,  and 
subsequently  masters  of  the  sea,  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
cause  the  ^Egean  to  become  practically  a  mare  clausum^ 
and  although  their  colonies  were  scattered  throughout 
the  frontiers  of  the  commercial  world,  they  seem  to  have 
been  free  traders.  We  have  no  authentic  data  from 
which  to  infer  that  the  idea  of  a  protective  tariff  im- 
posed as  duties  upon  imports  or  exports  or  a  tariff  for 
revenue  only  was  ever  conceived  by  the  Greeks.  Their 
political  economy  and  commercial  relations  with  other 
countries,  in  that  age,  did  not  seem  to  require  any  such 
mode  of  taxation,  either  to  build  up  home  manufac- 
tures, protect  "  infant  industries,"  or  secure  protection 
from  pauper  labor.  The  pauper  labor  was  slave  labor 
and  the  Athenians  owned  the  slaves.  There  were  no 
custom  houses,  so  far  as  we  are  informed  in  any  Athe- 
nian port,  anywhere,  and  the  government,  prior  to  the 
time  of  Pericles,  seems  to  have  been  supported  solely 
by  revenues  derived  presumably  by  direct  taxation. 
After  the  Persian  Wars,  the  revenues  of  the  Delian 
Confederacy  were  appropriated  by  the  Athenians,  to 
build  up  their  empire,  and  to  beautify  and  adorn  their 
imperial  city. 

The  Apodektae  were  therefore  simply  the  tax  gath- 


If' 


i6o 


MILITAEY   ANNAU5    OF    GREECE 


erers  and  disbursing  agents  of  the  Attic  Commonwealth. 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  prior  to  the  age  of  Pericles, 
the  army  was  obliged  to  serve  without  pay,  as  were  some 
other  officers  of  the  State,  including  the  dikasts,  the 
amount  of  revenue  to  support  the  government  must 
have  been  comparatively  small. 

Such  was  the  earliest  democracy  established  in 
Greece,  and  the  form  of  Constitutional  government 
framed  in  the  first  instance  by  Solon,  and  enlarged  and 
strengthened  by  Clisthenes,  the  first  democratic  leader 
of  the  Attic  people.  Among  the  supporters  of  Clis- 
thenes and  his  reforms,  was  the  youthful  Aristides,  who 
later  fought  with  his  distinguished  contemporary 
Themistocles  at  Marathon  and  Salamis,  and  led  the 
Athenians  to  victory  at  Plataea. 


CHAPTER    X 

PERSIANS   UNDER   DARIUS  — HIS  AFFAIRS    IN    ASIA 
—  SCYTHIA  AND  THE  SCYTHS 

HE  Scythian  expedition  under  Darius,  though 
a  Persian  undertaking,  properly  belongs  to 
the  military  annals  of  Greece.  The  Greek 
colonies  along  the  northern  shores  of  the 
Euxine  had  been  established  for  more  than  a 
century  before  the  time  of  Darius.  These  trading 
posts,  located  on  the  frontiers  of  Scythia,  afforded 
Greek  sailors  and  merchants  abundant  opportunity  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  Scythians,  and  familiar 
with  their  language,  and  enabled  them  to  obtain  much 
information  as  to  the  unexplored  regions  of  the  inte- 
rior and  some  knowledge  of  its  resources. 

This  information  Darius  sought  from  his  Greek  sub- 
jects in  Asia  Minor,  by  whom  many  of  these  colonies 
had  been  established,  and  under  whom  they  flourished. 
He  relied  upon  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor  to  furnish 
the  navy  which  was  essential  to  the  success  of  his  expe- 
dition, and  depended  entirely  upon  the  skill  and  scien- 
tific knowledge  of  his  Greek  Subjects  to  construct 
bridges  over  the  Bosphorus  and  the  Danube,  for  use 
in  transporting  his  armies. 

Before  discussing  the  details  of  the  expedition  some 
preliminary  observations  may  be  profitable.  First  as 
to  the  motives  which  induced  Darius  to  undertake  this, 
his  first  European  campaign,  which  he  purposed  to 
lead  in  person,  and  which,  considering  the  numerical 
strength  of  his  armament  comprising  more  than  three- 
quarters  of  a  million  fighting  men,  was  the  most  formi- 

i6i 


t 


l62 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


ECLIPSE    AT    THE    HALTS 


163 


dable  military  undertaking  of  which,  up  to  that  time, 
we  have  any  knowledge.  It  was  surpassed  only  by  the 
expedition,  which  a  generation  later  his  son  Xerxes 
led  into  Greece;  through  the  pass  of  Thermopylae,  ac- 
companied by  a  formidable  fleet  which  suffered  humili- 
ating defeat  in  the  straits  of  Salamis.  A  knowledge 
of  the  political  state  of  Asia  and  the  growth  and  con- 
dition of  the  Persian  empire,  in  the  time  of  Darius,  is 
essential  also  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the  events, 
which  followed  his  occupation  of  the  throne  of  Cyrus, 
and  the  circumstances  under  which  he  attempted  to 
extend  his  dominions  to  the  Adriatic  and  the  Gates  of 
Hercules.  Who  were  the  European  Scyths,  whose  coun- 
try Darius  sought  to  explore  and  conquer.'*  A  brief 
sketch  of  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  and  the  col- 
onies planted  by  them,  in  the  west,  and  on  the  Scythian 
frontiers,  is  proper  also  in  this  connection. 

Herodotus  declares  that  the  Scythian  expedition  took 
place  after  the  second  conquest  of  Babylon,  by  Darius, 
which  transpired  about  B.  C.  515.  He  assigns  as  the 
motive  of  Darius  in  undertaking  the  expedition,  re- 
venge upon  the  Scythians,  because  of  their  invasion  and 
temporary  conquest  of  Media,  during  the  reign  of 
Cyaxares,  more  than  half  a  century  before.  If  revenge 
was  the  only  motive  Darius  had,  in  undertaking  the 
conquest  of  Scythia,  the  immediate  cause  might  with 
some  propriety  have  been  attributed  to  the  circum- 
stances attending  the  death  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  father- 
in-law  of  Darius  himself,  who,  after  a  reign  of  twenty- 
nine  years,  according  to  Herodotus,  perished  in  battle, 
with  the  Massagetse,  who  resembled  the  Scythians  in 
their  dress  and  mode  of  living.^  These  wild  and  bar- 
barous tribes  inhabited  the  remote  regions  on  the  north- 


*  This  account  of  the  death  of  Cyrus  is  not  in  harmony  with  the 
account  in  the  Cyropaedia  of  Xenophon,  who  declares  that  the 
^eat  monarch  died  peacefully  in  his  bed. 


eastern  confines  of  the  Persian  empire,  and  were  ruled 
by  queen  Tomyris,  a  prototype  of  the  famous  British 
queen,  Boadicea.  Cyrus  led  his  last  expedition  across 
the  Araxes  (obviously,  not  the  river  of  the  same  name, 
which  flows  northeast  through  Armenia  into  the  Cas- 
pian), and  perished  in  battle,  B.  C.  529.  The  queen 
sought  for  his  body  among  the  slain,  and  mutilated  the 
remains  in  revenge  for  the  death  of  her  son,  who  took 
his  own  life  while  a  prisoner  in  the  camp  of  Cyrus. 

The  Scythians,  however,  prior  to  the  time  of  Cyrus 
the  Great,  and  about  sixty-three  years  before  Darius 
ascended  the  throne   of  Persia,   invaded   Asia.     They 
first  broke  through  the  Persian  frontier,  when  Cyaxares, 
the  Mede,  was  conducting  a  siege  against  the  City  of 
Nineveh,  after  he  had  defeated  the  Assyrian  King  in 
battle.     There  is  some  doubt  as  to  whether  this  incur- 
sion by  the  Scythians  was  in  the  reign  of  Cyaxares  or 
Astyages.     The  war  then  being  waged  between  Cyax- 
ares,  King  of   Media   and  Alyattes,   King   of   Lydia, 
which  had  been  carried  on  for  six  years,  was  brought  to 
a  close  at  the  nocturnal  battle  of  the  Halys.    At  noon- 
day, while  the  troops  were  fighting,  darkness  suddenly 
ensued.     This  mysterious  spectacle  was  occasioned  by 
an  almost  total  eclipse  of  the  sun.     Filled  with  alarm, 
and  superstitious  terror,  the  combatants  suspended  hos- 
tilities   and    concluded    a    treaty    of    peace.      Modern 
scholars  have  made  astronomical  calculations  to  ascer- 
tain when  this  eclipse  took  place,  in  order  to  ^x  the  date 
of  this  battle.     Mr.  Grote  says  that  no  less  than  eight 
different  dates  have  been  assigned  by  different  chronol- 
oglsts,  the  most  ancient  625  B.  C,  the  most  recent  583 
B.   C,  and  concludes  that  the  most  trustworthy  cal- 
culations fix  the  time  of  the  eclipse  as  occurring  on 
September  30,  610  B.  C.     On  the  other  hand,  Curtius 
inclines  to  the  opinion  that  the  most  accurate  calcula- 
tions point  to  that  which  occurred  on  May  28,  585 
B.  C,  which  in  the  land  of  the  Halys  changed  the 


n 


164 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


EMPIRE    OF    CYRUS 


165 


i 


dawn  of  day  into  night.  If  this  date  fixes  the  time,  it 
was  Astyages  and  not  Cyaxares  who  ruled  the  King- 
dom of  Media.  Labynetus,  the  King  of  Babylon,  who 
acted  with  Cyennesis,  the  Silician,  as  one  of  the  media- 
tors in  the  peace  negotiations  was  believed  to  be  the 
Nebuchadnezzar  of  the  scriptures.  At  all  events,  Mr. 
Grote  concludes  that  it  was  after  this  peace,  concluded 
by  reason  of  the  superstitious  fear  occasioned  by  the 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  which  interrupted  the  battle  of  the 
Halys,  which  river  afterwards  became  the  boundary 
which  divided  the  kingdoms  of  the  Medes  and  the 
Lydians,  that  Cyaxares  (or  Astyages)  collected  all 
his  forces  and  laid  siege  to  Nineveh,  but  was  obliged  to 
desist  by  the  unexpected  inroad  of  the  Scythians. 

On  this  occasion,  the  Medes  were  defeated  and  the 
Scythians  became  masters  of  all  Asia,  where  they  es- 
tablished themselves  for  nearly  a  generation,  and  re- 
mained for  a  period  of  twenty-eight  years.  This  was  at 
a  time  when  war  was  beginning  to  be  practised  more 
skillfully  and  scientifically,  and  not  by  projecting 
masses  of  men  indiscriminately  upon  opposing  masses. 
We  are  told  that  Cyaxares  was  the  first  to  divide  his 
army  into  cohorts  and  separate  the  spearmen,  the 
archers,  and  the  cavalry,  into  distinct  bodies.  We  are 
thus  given  to  infer  that  before  the  time  of  Cyaxares, 
armies  fought  in  a  confused  mass,  the  spearmen,  the 
cavalry,  the  archers  and  slingers  being  indiscriminately 
intermingled. 

If,  therefore,  vengeance  was  the  impulse  which 
prompted  Darius  to  lead  an  anny  to  the  Danube  to 
invade  Scythia,  he  had  abundant  cause.  But  when  we 
come  to  study  the  character  of  Darius,  his  wise  states- 
manship, large  experience  and  the  wealth,  resources  and 
extent  of  his  dominions  embracing  an  empire,  the  rich- 
est and  most  magnificent  which  the  world  has  ever  seen, 
the  pride  and  ambition  not  only  of  Darius,  but  of 
Atossa,  his  wife,  the  proud  daughter  of  Cyrus  the 


Great,  the  father  and  founder  of  the  Persian  empire, 
we  are  justified  in  the  conclusion  that  the  real  motives 
which  induced  Darius  to  undertake  the  Scythian  inva- 
sion sprang  from  his  desire  to  outstrip  the  achievements 
of  Cyrus  and  Cambyses,  and  extend  his  dominions 
across  the  frontiers  of  Europe,  to  the  Adriatic,  to  sub- 
due and  conquer  unknown  lands,  and  explore  the  re- 
motest confines  of  the  world.  Had  he  succeeded,  he 
would  have  anticipated  Alexander  the  Great,  as  a  world 
conqueror. 

The  empire  established  by  Cyrus  the  Great  to  which 
Darius  succeeded,  with  the  exception  of  Egypt,  em- 
braced the  confines  of  the  eastern  world.  Cyrus  was  the 
son  of  Cambyses,  King  of  Persia.  His  mother  was 
Mandane,  daughter  of  Astyages,  King  of  Media. 
When  Cyrus  came  to  the  throne.  Media  was,  with  the 
exception  of  Babylonia,  the  most  powerful  kingdom  in 
the  east.  The  Medes  had  been  successful  in  their  wars 
with  the  Assyrians.  They  took  the  city  of  Nineveh, 
fortified  Larissa  and  Mespila  on  the  Tigris,  and  con- 
ducted military  operations  against  the  Lydians.  Cyrus 
revolted  and  made  war  against  Astyages,  took  Ecba- 
tana,  his  capital,  and  overthrew  the  kingdom  of  Media, 
about  B.  C.  559.  He  then  advanced  westward,  con- 
quered Lydia,  and  reduced  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia 
Minor  and  the  states  of  Caria  and  Lycia.  Turning  his 
armies  to  the  east  Cyrus  besieged  and  took  Babylon, 
the  most  important  city  in  Asia  about  B.  C.  538.  The 
Babylonians  had  conquered  Syria  which  was  subject  to 
their  jurisdiction,  when  Babylon  was  taken  by  the  Per- 
sians. With  the  fall  of  Babylon,  therefore,  Syria  also 
fell;  and  Tyre  and  Sidon,  Phoenicia  and  Palestine  be- 
came an  integral  part  of  the  dominions  of  Cyrus.  He 
then  sought  the  conquest  of  the  turbulent  and  barbar- 
ous nations  on  the  northern  and  eastern  frontiers  of  his 
dominions  on  the  borders  of  Scythia.  He  advanced 
against  the  Sacae  and  neighboring  countries,  and  Bac- 


i66 


MIUTARY   ANNALS    OP    GEEECE 


UPRISING   IN    BABYLONIA 


167 


tria,  Sogdiana,  Chorasmia,  and  part  of  the  territory 
of  the  Massagetae,  all  of  which,  by  the  success  of  his 
arms,  were  embraced  within  boundaries  of  his  empire. 

Cambyses,  who  succeeded  Cyrus  to  the  throne  of 
Persia,  augmented  the  dominions  which  he  inherited, 
by  the  conquest  of  Egypt.  When  Darius  came  to  the 
throne  shortly  after  the  death  of  Cambyses,  B.  C.  622, 
his  dominions  embraced  practically  the  confines  of  the 
civilized  world,  with  the  exception  of  Hellas.  It  ex- 
tended in  the  east  to  the  Indus  and  the  western  borders 
of  Chinese  Tartary;  on  the  south  to  the  Erythrean 
Sea  (now  the  Sea  of  Arabia),  the  Indian  Ocean,  the 
confines  of  Ethiopia  (Abyssinia),  Egypt  and  Libya  on 
the  north  coast  of  Africa,  and  on  the  north  it  included 
the  frontiers  of  those  vast  unexplored  regions  which 
the  ancients  designated  under  the  general  designation 
of  Scythia,  extending  to  the  remote  regions  on  the 
shores  of  the  Caspian,  and  the  Oxus  or  Sea  of  Aral,  to 
the  Caucasus  mountains ;  on  the  west  its  boundary  was 
the  JEgean  Sea. 

This  vast  kingdom  was  graphically  described  by 
Cyrus  the  younger  to  his  Greek  auxiliaries  shortly  be- 
fore the  battle  of  Cunaxa.  Xenophon,  who  was  present 
and  heard  them,  has  preserved  the  words  of  Cyrus  in 
this  connection.  "  We  have  before  us,  my  friends," 
said  the  younger  Cyrus,  addressing  his  ten  thousand 
Greeks  on  that  occasion,  **  the  empire  that  was  my 
father's;  extending  on  the  south  to  the  parts  where 
men  cannot,  live  for  heat;  and  on  the  north  to  the 
parts  where  they  cannot  live  for  cold ;  and  over  all  that 
lies  between  these  extremes,  the  friends  of  my  brother 
are  now  satraps." 

To  satisfy  the  ambition  of  Darius,  as  conqueror  of 
the  world,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  extend  his 
dominions  in  the  west  to  the  gates  of  Hercules,  or 
straits  of  Gibraltar;  reduce  Hellas,  Italy  and  Spain, 
and  as  much  of  the  trackless  wilds  and  steppe  country 


north  of  the  Danube,  the  Euxine  and  the  Caspian  as 
he  might  be  able  to  penetrate  with  armies. 

Before  he  could  carry  out  these  designs,  however,  it 
became  necessary  for  him  to  restore  order  in  Asia, 
where  several  revolts  had  broken  out,  including  formi- 
dable uprisings  in  Media  and  Babylonia.  These  he  sup- 
pressed, and  B.  C.  515,  took  from  his  rebellious  sub- 
jects, the  City  of  Babylon,  which  his  father-in-law  had 
taken  from  Belshazzar  more  than  twenty  years  previ- 
ously. Darius  utterly  demolished  its  walls  and  de- 
fenses. He  then  organized  his  kingdom  into  twenty- 
one  satrapsies  from  which  he  derived  an  annual  income 
of  more  than  the  equivalent  of  $21,000,000  annually. 
He  removed  the  capital  of  the  empire  from  Persepolis, 
and  built  magnificent  parks,  palaces  and  fountains  at 
Susa,  the  new  capital  of  his  empire,  during  the  winter 
months.  In  the  summer  he  usually  repaired  to  the 
cooler  regions  of  Ecbatana,  the  ancient  capital  of 
Media. 

At  the  time  of  the  Scythian  expedition,  therefore, 
Darius  was  the  wealthiest  and  most  powerful  monarch 
the  world  had  ever  seen.  Yet,  in  his  expedition  to  the 
Danube  he  failed  utterly,  notwithstanding  his  wisdom 
and  experience,  and  the  unlimited  resources  at  his  com- 
mand. 

Who  were  these  Scythians  who  defied  the  power  of 
Darius  and  baffled  his  efforts  to  reduce  them  to  slavery? 

Some  confusion  arises  as  to  this  inquiry  from  the 
fact  that  the  words  Scythia  and  Scythians  were  used 
as  a  generic  term  in  connection  with  the  numerous  mon- 
grel races  who  inhabited  the  wild  and  inaccessible  coun- 
try north  of  the  Euxine,  the  Caspian,  and  the  Danube. 

Among  these  Herodotus  mentions  the  Tauri,  the 
mountaineers  of  the  Tauric  Chersonese,  now  the  Crimea, 
who  live  by  rapine  and  war;  the  Agathyrsi,  fond  of 
gold  ornaments,  who  live  in  promiscuous  intercourse 
with    women,    deeming   themselves    all    brethren;     the 


\ 


I 


' 


!, 


i68 


MIUTARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


!i'^^ 


Neuri,  a  nation  or  tribe  of  magicians  and  soothsayers ; 
the  Androphagi,  a  nomadic  race  of  cannibals;  the 
Melanchlaeni,  who  habitually  wear  black  garments; 
the  Budini,  who  paint  their  bodies  blue  and  red,  a  race 
of  nomads  who  eat  vermin;  whose  country  abounds 
with  lakes  and  forests,  and  the  Sauromatae,  who  claim 
to  have  descended  from  the  Amazons.  Such  were  the 
wretched  and  miserable  inhabitants  who,  in  the  sixth 
century  B.  C,  dwelt  as  neighbors  among  the  Scythians, 
and  roved  over  the  steppe-lands,  and  on  the  borders 
of  stretches  of  deserts,  the  forests  and  trackless  wilds 
of  what  is  now  Roumania,  and  southern  Russia.  Eth^ 
nological  problems  are  involved  also,  which  will  be  dis- 
cussed presently.  Herodotus  declares  that  the 
Scythians  had  driven  the  Cimmerians  out  of  Europe, 
pursued  them  into  Asia,  and  by  that  means  entered  the 
territory  of  the  Medes,  about  the  time  of  the  nocturnal 
battle  of  the  Halys,  before  referred  to,  where  they  es- 
tablished themselves,  and  remained  dominant  for  twenty- 
eight  years. 

These  Cimmerians  were  a  barbarous  race,  and  doubt- 
less became  extinct  after  the  Scythians  secured  the  as- 
cendancy. They  are  referred  to  in  the  Odyssey,  where 
Homer  describes  the  visit  of  Ulysses  to  the  land  of  the 
Dead,  an  expedition  projected  by  the  fair  haired  en- 
chantress Circe.  When  the  paths  of  the  great  sea  were 
darkened,  and  the  ship  of  Ulysses  reached  the  distant 
confines  of  the  world,  on  the  furthermost  limit  of  the 
ocean  stream  and  beyond  the  influence  of  the  life  giving 
sun,  in  this  region  of  the  dead,  they  reached  the  land  of 
the  Cimmerians. 


i4 


"There  lies  the  land,  and  there  the  people  dwell 
Of  the  Cimmerians,  in  eternal  cloud 
And  darkness.     Never  does  the  glorious  sun 
Look  on  them  with  his  rays,  when  he  goes  up 
Into  the  starry  sky,  nor  when  again 
He  sinks  from  heaven  to  earth.    Unwholesome  night 
O'erhangs  the  wretched  race." 


SCYTHIAN    CONQUESTS 


169 


The  Scythians  were  expert  archers  and  excelled  in 
horsemanship.  They  overran  not  only  Media,  Persia 
and  other  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  but  invaded  Palestine. 
They  were  the  scourge  of  God  sent  to  punish  the  Israel- 
ites. It  is  believed  that  Jeremiah  (v.  15)  refers  in  his 
prophecy  to  the  Sc3^thians.  He  wrote  approximately 
about  B.  C.  612.    The  prophet  declares: 

"  Lo,  I  will  bring  a  nation  upon  you  from  far,  O 
house  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord.  It  is  a  mighty  nation ; 
it  is  an  ancient  nation ;  a  nation  whose  language  thou 
knowest  not  neither  understand  what  they  say. 

"  Their  quiver  is  as  an  open  sepulchre ;  they  are  all 
mighty  men.  And  they  shall  eat  up  thy  harvest  and 
thy  bread,  which  thy  sons  and  thy  daughters  should 
eat ;  they  shall  eat  up  thy  flocks  and  thine  herds ;  they 
shall  eat  up  thy  vines  and  thy  ^g  trees;  they  shall 
impoverish  thy  fenced  cities,  wherein  thou  trustedst 
with  the  sword." 

The  facts  seem  to  be  established  beyond  question 
that  late  in  the  seventh  century  B.  C.  or  early  in  the 
sixth,  the  Scythians  became  masters  of  all  Asia.  They 
came  with  their  armies  into  Syria,  conquered  Tyre  and 
Sidon,  overran  Phoenicia  and  Palestine,  and  were  about 
to  extend  their  inroads  into  Egypt.  The  Egyptian 
King,  however,  anticipating  their  approach,  journeyed 
into  Palestine  and  by  the  use  of  immense  bribes,  suc- 
ceeded in  persuading  these  savage  nomads  to  desist  and 
spare  Egypt.  Thus  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs  escaped 
the  hand  of  the  spoiler.  The  Scythians,  however,  pil- 
laged and  desecrated  the  temple  of  the  celestial  Venus  at 
Ascalon.  Divine  retribution  followed.  In  revenge  for 
his  impiety,  the  Goddess,  we  are  told,  inflicted  on  the 
Scythians  an  hereditary  female  disease  which  infected 
them  and  their  posterity.  In  the  middle  of  the  fifth 
century  B.  C.  the  ravages  of  this  disease  was  prevalent. 
Herodotus,  referring  to  this  plague,  declares  that  one 
who  visits  Scythia  may  see  in  what  a  state  they  are,  in 


'■ 


170 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


GREEK    SUBJECTS    OP    DARIUS 


171 


n 


I'll' 

11= 


consequence  of  this  scourge.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  by  reason  of  their  neglect  and  licentiousness  these 
wretched  people  gradually  became  extinct.  Ethnolo- 
gists affirm  in  corroboration  of  this  view  that  the  race 
is  now  extinct  and  that  not  a  trace  of  them  can  be 
found. 

They  were  expert  with  the  bow,  and  fought  always 
on  horseback.  They  were  barbarous  and  bloodthirsty. 
A  Scythian  was  accustomed  to  drink  the  blood  of  the 
first  man  he  slew  in  battle,  in  the  belief  that  the  courage 
of  the  vanquished  foe  passed  with  his  blood  and  aug- 
mented the  prowess  of  the  victor.  Only  the  warrior 
who  brought  with  him  the  heads  of  an  enemy  was  en- 
titled to  share  in  the  spoils.  An  instance  of  their  ex- 
treme cruelty  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  it  was  the 
custom  to  put  out  the  eyes  of  their  slaves  and  captives 
upon  the  theory  that  being  devoid  of  sight,  they  could 
not  successfully  steal  from  their  masters. 

As  to  the  ethnological  problem  regarding  the 
Scythians,  it  may  be  said  that  Canon  Rawlinson,  the 
English  historian,  orientalist  and  theologian,  and  one 
of  the  most  accomplished  of  modern  scholars,  concludes 
that  the  Scythians  were  Aryans.  That  they  belonged 
to  the  Indo-European  race,  not  to  the  Mongol  or  Tar- 
tar family.  That  they  were  entirely  distinct  from  the 
Slavs,  Celts,  Pelasgians,  and  Teutons,  and  that  they 
are  now  extinct.  "  Like  the  Mexican  Aztecs,"  says 
Mr.  Rawlinson,  "  whom  they  resembled  in  some  degree, 
they  have  been  swept  away  by  the  current  of  immigra- 
tion, and  except  for  the  mounds  which  cover  their  land, 
in  the  pages  of  the  historian  or  ethnologist,  not  a  trace 
remains  to  tell  of  their  past  existence."  Their  places 
have  been  taken  by  Huns,  Avars,  Bulgarians,  Magyars, 
Turks,  Mongols,  Tartars,  Calmucks  and  Thibetians, 
who,  in  subsequent  centuries  have  made  inroads  and  in- 
cursions as  did  the  Cimmerians  and  Scythians  in  the 
age  of  Cyaxares.    Such  were  the  Scythians  in  the  sixth 


century  B.  C,  whose  territories  the  Persian  monarch 
sought  to  invade,  and  bring  within  the  confines  of  his 
vast  dominions. 

Darius,  in  his  first  attempt  to  extend  his  empire  in 
the  west  beyond  the  shores  of  the  ^Egean,  like  Cyrus 
the  younger  more  than  a  century  later,  depended  for 
the  success  of  his  expedition  upon  his  Hellenic  auxili- 
aries. He  relied  upon  his  Greek  subjects  in  Asia  Minor 
to  furnish  a  fleet  with  which  to  ascend  the  Danube ;  to 
bridge  the  Bosphorus,  and  the  Ister  and  to  pilot  his 
land  forces  through  the  unexplored  regions  of  Thrace. 


CHAPTER    X.I 

PERSIANS  IN  EUROPE  UNDER  DARIUS  — THE 
SCYTHIAN  EXPEDITION  ON  THE  DANUBE, 

B.  C.  513 


|AVING  restored  order  in  his  own  dominions, 
as  related  in  the  last  chapter,  Darius  began 
to  make  preparations  for  his  campaign 
against  the  Scythians.  From  his  palace  in 
Susa,  he  dispatched  messengers,  some  to  col- 
lect the  land  forces,  others  to  convene  the  fleet.  Man- 
drocles  of  Samos  was  ordered  to  build  a  bridge  of  boats 
across  the  Thracian  Bosphorus,  to  enable  the  army  of 
Darius  to  march  from  Asia  into  Europe. 

This  army  Darius  collected  from  all  parts  of  his 
dominions.  When  he  reached  the  Bosphorus  it  com- 
prised 700,000  men,  including  the  cavalry.  His  naval 
force  consisted  of  six  hundred  ships  manned  by  lonians, 
Cohans  and  Hellespontines.  At  the  mouth  of  the 
Bosphorus,  on  the  Euxine,  are  the  Cyanean  islands, 
which  the  legend  says  were  at  one  time  enchanted 
floating  islands.  On  the  largest  of  these  was  erected 
a  magnificent  temple,  overlooking  the  broad  expanse 
of  the  Euxine.  When  Darius  arrived  at  the  Bosphorus, 
the  bridge  which  he  had  ordered  to  be  thrown  across 
the  strait  had  been  completed.  Before  crossing  from 
Asia  he  tarried  a  short  time,  to  view  the  Straits  and 
the  Euxine.  He  went  on  board  a  ship,  and  sailed  in 
this  land  of  enchantment  to  the  temple  on  the  Cya- 
nean islands.  There,  seated  beneath  its  broad  arches, 
he  gazed  out  upon  the  waters  of  the  Euxine,  which  of 

17a 


BRIDGE    OVER    BOSPHORUS 


173 


all  seas,  is  by  nature  the  most  wonderful,  doubtless  an- 
ticipating a  complete  conquest  of  the  countries  on  its 
coasts,  as  a  result  of  his  expedition  into  Scythia.     Hav- 
ing traversed  the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus,  which  ex- 
tends about  eighteen  miles  from  the  Propontis  to  the 
Euxine,  Darius  erected  two  columns  of  white  marble, 
upon  which  were  inscribed  the  names  of  all  the  nations 
from  which  his  armament  was  gathered,  which  included 
some  from  every  country  in  his  vast  empire.     These  in- 
scriptions  were   in   Greek   and   Assyrian   that   all  the 
world  might   read.     Darius  was  highly  gratified  and 
pleased  with  the  bridge  of  boats  which  the  skillful  Man- 
drocles,  the   Samian,  had   constructed.      He  rewarded 
him  with  gifts  befitting  the  generosity  of  the  richest 
monarch  in  the  world.     Mandrocles,  elated  by  his  suc- 
cess and  good  fortune,  procured  an  artist  to  paint  a 
grand  picture,  portraying  in  vivid  colors,  the  structure 
with  its  termini  in  Europe  and  Asia.     Conspicuous  in 
the  painting  was  shown  Darius  in  the  seat  of  honor 
reviewing  his  army,  as  it  passed  over  the  bridge.     The 
picture  was  taken  to  the  temple  of  Here   (Juno),  at 
Samos,  to  whom  it  was  dedicated,  and  bore  the  follow- 
ing inscription :  ^  "  Mandrocles,  having  thrown  a  bridge 
across  the  fishy  Bosphorus,  dedicated  to  Here  a  memo- 
rial of  the  raft;    laying  up  for  himself  a  crown,  and 
for   the   Samians   glory,   having   completed   it   to   the 
satisfaction  of  Darius." 

When  all  things  were  in  readiness  Darius  gave  or- 
ders to  his  fleet  to  sail  along  the  western  shore  of  the 
Euxine  to  the  southern  mouth  of  the  Ister  (the  Dan- 
ube), where  the  city  of  Istria  was  located,  advanced 
thence  up  the  stream  to  the  apex  of  its  delta,  two  days' 
sail  from  the  sea,  where  the  river  forks  and  discharges 

*The  fish-fraught  Bospl\prus,  bridged  to  Here's  fame. 
Did  Mandrocles,  this  proud  memorial  bring; 
When  for  himself  a  crown  he*d  skill  to  gain, 
For  Samos  praise;  contenting  the  Great  King. 


174 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


TESTIMONY   OF    JOCHMUS 


175 


itself  through  several  mouths  into  the  Euxine.  At 
this  point  his  engineers  were  instructed  to  build  a 
bridge  across  the  river,  and  await  the  arrival  of  Darius 
with  the  land  forces. 

In  all  probability  the  route  taken  by  Darius,  after 
leaving  the  Bosphorus,  was  inland,  a  short  distance 
to  Perinthus  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Propontis  (sea 
of  Marmora),  the  modem  Erekli;  thence  almost  due 
north  through  Thrace,  across  the  Hasmus  mountains, 
a  spur  of  the  Balkans,  into  the  land  of  the  Getae,  who 
at  that  time  doubtless  dwelt  on  both  sides  of  the  Dan- 
ube whom  the  invader  subdued,  and  proceeded  thence 
north  to  where  its  channels  separate,  where  the  bridge 
was  constructed  to  enable  him  to  cross  with  his  army, 
into  Scythia. 

The  distance  from  Perinthus  to  the  delta  of  the 
Danube,  in  a  direct  line,  is  about  300  miles.  The  trail 
followed  by  Darius,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
obliged  to  cross  the  Balkans,  and  allowing  for  devia- 
tions in  his  route,  owing  to  physical  conditions  of  the 
country  through  which  he  passed,  was  perhaps  in  the 
neighborhood  of  350  miles.  The  sources  of  the  Teams, 
in  Thrace,  are  about  sixty  miles  north  of  Perinthus. 
It  is  one  of  the  purest  and  clearest  rivers  in  Europe, 
and  was  noted  in  that  day  for  the  wonderful  healing 
properties  of  its  waters.  Its  sources  are  thirty-eight 
springs  or  fountains  flowing  from  contiguous  rocks, 
some  of  which  are  cold,  others  hot.  It  flows  southwest 
through  Thrace  into  the  Hebrus,  which  empties  into  the 
^gean.  When  Darius  reached  the  springs  of  the 
Teams,  he  encamped  three  days,  and  recorded  his  satis- 
faction and  delight  by  erecting  a  column  with  this  in- 
scription : 

"Feom  the  springs  op  the  Tearus  fijow  the   clearest  and 

PUREST  OF  WATERS.  To  THEM  CAME  DaRIUS,  SON  OP  HySTASPES,  THE 
SUPERIOR  OP  ALL  MEN,  KiNO  OP  THE  PERSIANS,  AND  OP  THE  WHOLE 
CONTINENT,  LEADINO  AN  ARMY  AGAINST  THE  SCYTHIANJ." 


Naaman,  the  Syrian  general,  when  directed  by  the 
prophet  Elisha  to  bathe  seven  times  in  the  Jordan,  as 
a  cure  for  his  leprosy,  passed  a  like  encomium  upon  the 
waters  of  his  own  country.  "  Are  not  Abana  and  Phar- 
par,"  he  said,  "  rivers  of  Damascus,  better  than  all  the 
waters  of  Israel.'* "  This  declaration,  however,  was 
made  nearly  four  centuries  before  Darius  visited  the 
springs  of  the  Teams. 

In  corroboration  of  this  part  of  the  narrative  of 
Herodotus,  concerning  the  Scythian  expedition,  which 
some  modem  critics  have  assumed  never  took  place,  it 
will  be  interesting  to  observe  the  account  given  by  Gen- 
eral Jochmus,  who  visited  the  headwaters  of  Tearus 
in  1847.     In  an  article  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society   (Vol.  xxiv,  pp.  44,  45),  he  de- 
clares that  a  fragment  of  the  inscription,  written  at  the 
command  of  Darius,  in  letters  described  as  resembling 
nails,  was  extant  in  that  locality,  a  few  years  before 
his   visit.      He   says   he   conversed   with   persons   who 
claimed  to  have  seen  the  ancient  inscription,  which  can- 
not now  be  found.    He  observes  further  that  the  thirty- 
eight  sources  of  the  Tearus  mentioned  by  Herodotus 
may  easily  be  made  out  in  the  town  of  Bunarhissar, 
and  in  the  village  of  Yene  one  hour  due  north.     He 
corroborates  Herodotus  as  to  the  locality  and  declares 
that  Bunarhissar  "  is  at  an  equal  distance  from  He- 
raeum   (Heraeopolis),  a  short  distance  west  of  Perin- 
thus (the  modem  Erekli),  and  from  Apollonia,  on  the 
Euxine  (the  present  Sizeboli),  being  distant  two  days 
from  both."    Jochmus  is  of  opinion  that  Darius,  after 
crossing  the  Bosphorus  "  encamped  successively  at  the 
sources  of  the  Tearus  (Bunarhissar)  on  the  banks  of 
the  Teke,  or  Artiscus  (at  Doletagach),  and  following 
the  direction  of  Burghas  and  Akhioli,  and  receiving 
the  submission  of  the  sea  towns,  he  afterwards  passed 
the  Balkans  by  the  defiles  parallel  to  the  sea-coast  from 
Misevria,  to  Yovan-Dervish,  moving  thus  from  south 


^ 


1/6 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


DARIUS    ON    THE   DANUBE 


177 


to  north  by  the  same  roads  which  were  chosen  by  Gen- 
erals Roth  and  Rudiger,  and  Marshall  Diebitch  him- 
self from  north  to  south  in  1829."  The  Russians,  also, 
in  1828,  like  Darius  about  2,300  years  before,  crossed 
the  Danube  at  that  part  of  the  river  where  it  branched 
off,  that  is  near  the  modern  Isaltcha." 

Modern  surveys  made  by  the  Danube  Navigation 
Commission,  under  the  direction  of  Charles  A.  Hartley, 
its  chief  engineer,  affords  us  accurate  information  as  to 
the  present  location  of  the  channels  forming  the  delta 
of  that  great  stream.  Isaltcha,  referred  to  by  Gen- 
eral Jochmus,  is  in  Bulgaria,  fifteen  miles  beyond  Ismail, 
which  is  at  the  head  of  the  delta.  The  Danube  divides 
at  present  near  Isaltcha,  between  Braila  and  Ismail. 
It  is  forty  miles  below  Ibrail,  and  thirty  miles  below 
Galatz,  in  Moldavia,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Danube, 
between  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  Sereth  and  the  Pruth, 
distant  76  miles  from  the  sea  following  the  course  of  the 
most  northerly,  or  the  Kilia  branch ;  78  miles  following 
the  central  or  Sulina  branch,  and  90  miles  by  the  most 
southerly,  or  the  St.  George  branch.  It  is  68  miles 
from  the  sea,  measuring  in  a  straight  line. 

Mr.  Hartley  describes  the  delta  of  the  Danube  as 
bounded  north  by  the  Kilia  branch,  south  by  the  Toul- 
cha  and  the  St.  George  branch,  and  on  the  east  by  the 
Black  sea.  Its  area  is  1,000  square  miles.  Of  this  tri- 
angle the  Ismail  fork  is  the  western  apex,  and  the  sea- 
coast  from  the  mouths  of  the  St.  George  and  the  Kilia, 
is  the  base.  Including  the  island  of  Dranova,  south  of 
the  St.  George,  as  part  of  the  delta  it  contains  1,300 
square  miles. 

During  extraordinary  high  floods  the  delta  is  almost 
entirely  submerged.  It  is  not  fitted  for  cultivation, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  patches.  "  Reeds  of  large 
growth  cover  a  greater  portion  of  its  surface,  and  vast 
swamps  and  fresh  water  lakes  are  found  in  every  direc- 
tion.    On  the  islands  of  St.  George  and  Leti,  in  the 


delta,  are  deep  forests  of  oaks,  many  of  which  are  three 
feet  in  diameter,  and  belts  of  willow  and  alder  trees 
clothe  the  convex  shore  of  the  St.  George,  at  every 
bend  of  its  course."  In  corroboration  of  Herodotus, 
it  may  be  observed  that  modern  surveys  show  ^ve  prin- 
cipal mouths  or  channels.  At  Galatz,  at  the  present 
day,  the  Danube  is  2,000  feet  wide.  It  is  located  85 
miles  from  the  Sulnia,  or  middle  mouth.  It  is  probable 
that  its  site  is  approximately  the  locality  where  the 
bridge  was  constructed  over  which  the  army  of  Darius 
entered  Scythia. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  St.  George  channel  is 
located  too  far  north  to  correspond  with  the  location 
of  Istria,  which  it  is  said  was  at  the  southern  mouth  of 
the  Danube,  Canon  Rawlinson  observes  that  it  is  pos- 
sible that  at  the  time  of  the  expedition  of  Darius, 
B.  C.  513,  there  may  have  been  "  some  other  line  by 
which  a  stream  may  have  passed  considerably  to  the 
south  of  all  the  present  mouths.  It  seems  clear  that  a 
navigable  branch  must  once  have  reached  the  sea,  at  or 
near  Istria,  which  was  certainly  as  far  south  as  Kara- 
glak." 

Herodotus  visited  the  Ister,  and  spent  some  time  at 
Olbia  on  the  Hypanis  (now  the  Bug).  He  was  not 
only  the  first  great  historical  writer  but  the  most  dis- 
tinguished traveler  of  his  age,  having  visited  almost 
every  part  of  the  known  world,  then  open  to  commerce. 
He  describes  the  Ister  as  the  largest  of  rivers,  flowing 
from  the  country  of  the  Celts  through  all  Europe, 
which  discharges  itself  through  Rye  mouths  into  the 
Euxine.  He  mentions  a  number  of  its  confluents,  and 
observes  that  the  Nile  surpasses  it  only  in  quantity, 
or  volume,  because  the  latter  had  no  tributaries. 

When  Darius  arrived  at  the  delta  of  the  Danube,  the 
bridge  had  been  constructed,  and  was  in  readiness. 
Darius  then  led  his  forces  into  Scythia,  and  "  com- 
manded the  lonians  to  loose  the  bridge  and  follow  him 


t 


178 


MlLITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


TACTICS    OP    SCYTHIANS 


179 


on  the  continent  with  the  forces  from  the  ships." 
When  preparations  were  being  made  to  execute  this 
order,  Goes,  an  officer  from  Mitjlene,  ventured  to  sug- 
gest to  Darius  that  it  might  perhaps  be  prudent  to 
allow  the  bridge  to  remain.  He  reminded  him  that  he 
was  about  to  penetrate  an  unknown  and  unexplored 
region,  and  could  not  foresee  what  difficulties  might 
possibly  render  it  essential  for  his  safe  return.  If  the 
Scythians  were  conquered,  the  way  would  be  open ;  but 
if  the  enemy  should  evade  pursuit  in  the  wilderness,  it 
would  be  convenient  to  return  by  the  bridge.  Darius 
not  only  received  the  suggestion  kindly,  but  commended 
Goes  for  his  foresight.  He  convened  the  lonians,  and 
commanded  them  to  remain  on  the  Ister,  and  guard 
the  bridge  for  a  period  of  sixty  days  after  his  depart- 
ure, and  in  case  he  did  not  return  within  that  time 
gave  them  permission  to  return  to  Asia. 

He  improvised  a  rude  calendar  to  mark  the  passing 
days  by  using  a  thong  in  which  he  tied  sixty  knots  and 
directed  that  each  day  one  knot  should  be  loosed,  until 
all  were  untied,  and  if  by  that  time  he  had  not  re- 
turned, the  lonians  might  depart  to  their  homes. 

In  explanation  of  this  sixty  day  time  limit,  some 
writers  have  suggested  that  Darius  intended  to  march 
his  army  north  and  east  inland  through  the  country 
bordering  on  the  shores  of  the  Euxine;  thence  across 
Gaucasia,  and  south  through  the  defiles  of  the  Gau- 
casus  range  of  mountains,  into  the  region  inhabited 
by  the  Saspires,  in  modem  Armenia,  thence  across  the 
Phasis,  and  southerly  into  his  own  dominions.  If  this 
plan  had  succeeded,  Darius  would  have  had  no  further 
use  for  the  bridge  on  the  Danube.  However  this  may 
be,  he  instructed  the  lonians  that  if  he  returned  not 
within  the  days  numbered  by  the  knots,  they  need  not 
expect  him,  and  that  the  Greeks  might  sail  home. 

The  only  source  from  which  we  learn  what  took  place 
during  the  sojourn  of  Darius  in  Scythia  is  the  ac- 


count given  by  Herodotus,  which  is  rather  indefinite. 
The  substance  o^  the  narrative  is  that  Darius  found 
himself  in  a  trackless  wilderness,  inhabited  by  nomads, 
without  permanent  cities  or  villages ;    a  country  desti- 
tute  of   roads   or  proper  means   for  transporting  an 
army.    That  the  Scythians  having  failed  to  induce  their 
neighbors  to  unite  and  fight  in  open  battle  with  the  in- 
vader, determined  not  to  fight  at  all,  but  to  hector 
and  annoy  the  enemy,  by   falling  on  their   rear  and 
flanks,  at  unexpected  times  and  places,  and  then  sud- 
denly  disappear  successfully   evading  pursuit.     They 
obstructed  the  passes,  filled  up  the  springs  and  wells, 
run  off  the  cattle  and  herds,  but  gave  no  opportunity 
to  the  Persian  to  attack  them,  in  the  open.     They  con- 
stantly eluded  the  vigilance  of  the  enemy,  intending  to 
wear  out  the  Persians  and  reduce  them  to  starvation  if 
possible.     It  will  be  observed  that  the  tactics  pursued 
by  the  leaders  of  these  half  civilized  nomads  to  thwart 
the  aims  of  Darius  were  very  similar  to  those  adopted 
later  by  the  Roman  Fabius,  in  his  efforts  to  defeat  the 
strategy  of  Hannibal.     What  could  Darius  accomplish 
against  an  invisible  foe  and  in  the  face  of  such  tactics.? 
He  could  not  take  their  cities  or  pillage  their  villages, 
for  being  nomads,  he  found  neither  cities  nor  villages 
worthy  of  the  name.    He  could  not  destroy  them  in  bat- 
tle, because  he  was  afforded  no  opportunity  to  fight  a 
battle.    He  could  not  surprise  or  capture  the  enemy,  be- 
cause he  was  in  a  strange,  hostile  country,  a  practical 
wilderness,  and  was  himself  surprised  and  harried  by 
an  invisible  foe.     The  Scythians  were  expert  horsemen, 
and  showed  great  intelligence  in  their  efforts  to  secure 
knowledge  of  all  the  movements  of  Darius.     They  vis- 
ited the  Greeks,  who  were  guarding  the  bridge  on  the 
Danube,  and  learned  that  Darius  purposed  to  return  in 
sixty  days.      Doubtless   among  these   Scythians   there 
were  many  who  had  come  in  contact  with  the  Greek  fur 
traders,  com   merchants  and   settlers   in   the  frontier 


i 


i  .\ 


i8o 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


HISTI^US     AT   DANUBE     BRIDGE 


i8i 


towns  along  the  northern  shores  of  the  Euxine  and 
were  able  to  understand  enough  Greek  to  communicate 
intelligently  with  the  lonians.  They  endeavored  to 
foment  a  conspiracy  among  the  Greek  auxiliaries  at 
the  bridge  after  the  sixty  days  had  passed,  and  they 
used  every  means  to  persuade  them  to  destroy  the 
bridge,  and  leave  Darius  to  his  fate  amid  the  trackless 
wilds  and  steppe  country  of  Scythia.  They  declared 
to  the  lonians  that  by  so  doing  they  would  gain  free- 
dom from  a  despotic  tyrant,  for  which  they  could  thank 
the  Gods  and  the  Scythians. 

It  may  seem  incredible  that  negotiations  under  the 
circumstances  could  be  successfully  carried  on,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Danube,  looking  to  the  cooperation  of 
these  half  civilized  and  barbarous  nomads,  with  the 
Greek  subjects  of  the  Persian  ruler,  having  for  its  ob- 
ject the  ruin  of  Darius  and  the  destruction  of  his  army 
by  keeping  them,  in  a  sense,  prisoners  in  the  trackless 
wilds  of  Scythia,  where  they  must  eventually  perish  for 
want  of  subsistence.  And  yet  the  scheme  was  enter- 
tained by  the  lonians,  and  would  have  succeeded  if  the 
views  of  Miltisules,  governor  of  the  Thracian  Cherson- 
ese, who  with  other  Greeks  were  forced  to  join  the  ex- 
pedition, could  have  prevailed.  This  Miltiades  was  a 
nephew  jof  the  Athenian  exile  of  the  same  name,  who 
had  been  banished  from  Athens,  with  others  of  the 
oligarchical  party  of  the  Pisistratidae.  The  nephew 
entertained  no  sympathy  for  the  Persians,  whom  he 
regarded  as  hostile  to  his  igovernment  in  the  peninsula 
west  of  the  Hellespont.  Nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
later,  this  Miltiades  achieved  immortality  by  his  vic- 
tory over  the  army  of  Darius  at  Marathon.  On  the 
occasion  at  the  bridge  on  the  Danube,  however,  His- 
tiaeus  of  Miletus,  came  to  the  rescue  of  his  sovereign. 
He  argued  that  by  compassing  the  destruction  of 
Darius  they  would  defeat  their  own  authority  as  mili- 
tary governors.     He  pointed  out  that  they  retained 


their  respective  offices  by  the  grace  of  Darius.  If  his 
sovereignty  were  to  end  by  reason  of  his  death,  his  pos- 
sible successor  might  not  look  with  favor  upon  the 
lonians.  In  any  event,  Histiaeus  contended  that  the 
liberty  loving  Greeks  in  Asia  Minor  would  rise  in  re- 
volt, and  seek  to  establish  a  democracy  on  the  ruins  of 
the  oligarchy  which  Darius  permitted  to  exist,  when 
he  allowed  his  Greek  subjects  to  administer  the  govern- 
ment among  their  people,  within  the  limitations  pre- 
scribed by  the  Great  King.  He  contended  that  the 
failure  of  Darius  to  return  to  Asia  would  result  in 
a  bloody  revolution,  and  civil  war,  which  would  be 
disastrous  to  them,  no  matter  what  the  ultimate  result 
of  the  struggle  might  be.  The  argument  advanced  by 
Histiaeus  finally  prevailed,  and  it  was  resolved  to  remain 
with  the  fleet,  and  await  the  return  of  Darius  or  tidings 
of  his  whereabouts.  The  Greeks,  however,  deemed  it 
prudent  to  deceive  and  mislead  the  Scythians  by  de- 
claring that  they  believed  their  counsel  wise,  and  that 
they  would  act  accordingly.  Their  real  object  was  to 
prevent  the  Scythians  from  attempting  to  cross  the 
bridge,  and  to  persuade  them  to  return  to  harrass, 
and  if  possible,  prevent  Darius  from  reaching  the 
Danube.  Histiasus  was  commissioned  to  say  these 
things  to  the  Scythians.  He  told  them  they  intended 
to  act  on  their  advice  and  dismantle  the  bridge.  He 
added  also  this  admonition :  "  While  we  are  breaking  up 
the  bridge,"  he  said,  "  it  is  fitting  you  should  seek  the 
Persians  and  having  found  them  avenge  us  and  your- 
selves on  them,  as  they  deserve."  In  order  to  em- 
phasize the  delusion,  the  Greeks  began  to  remove  some 
parts  of  the  bridge,  on  the  left  or  northern  bank  of 
the  stream,  purposely  retarding  their  work,  until  the 
Scythians  had  departed. 

In  furtherance  of  their  scheme  of  cooperation  with 
the  lonians  on  the  river,  the  Scythians  sought  to  lure 
the  Persians  as  far  as  possible  from  the  stream.    They 


^ 


1 82 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GBEECE 


EXPEDITION    AN    HISTORICAL   FACT 


183 


permitted  them  occasionally  to  capture  detached  herds, 
and  appeared  as  if  to  give  battle  and  then  retreated 
with  the  design  of  having  the  enemy  follow  them,  ho- 
ping thus  to  detain  Darius  until  the  plan  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  bridge  had  been  accomplished.  The 
plot,  however,  failed,  owing  to  the  influence  of  Histiaeus, 
who  undoubtedly  was  instrumental  in  saving  the  Per- 
sian army  and  the  life  of  his  sovereign.  Darius  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  Danube,  crossed  it,  and  continued  his 
march  south  through  Thrace,  and  at  Sestus  crossed  the 
Hellespont  into  Asia. 

How  far  the  army  of  Darius  succeeded  in  penetra- 
ting into  Scythia  no  historian  has  been  able  to  state 
with  any  degree  of  accuracy.  It  seems  incredible  that 
he  could  have  advanced  as  far  as  the  Tanais  (the  Don), 
the  Hypanis  (the  Bug)  or  even  across  the  Tyras  (the 
Dniester).  This  is  obvious  because  neither  of  these 
rivers  are  fordable  near  their  mouths,  and  DaTius 
could  not  cross  them  with  an  army  of  700,000  without 
the  aid  of  a  bridge  such  as  was  constructed  across  the 
Danube.  There  is  no  pretense  by  anybody  that  he  had 
under  his  control  in  Scythia  boats,  or  material  neces- 
sary to  bridge  these  great  rivers  of  southern  Russia. 
Ctesias,  who  derived  his  information  from  Persian 
sources,  declares  that  Darius  marched  for  fifteen  days 
into  the  Scythian  country  and  there  met  the  King  of 
Scythia  and  exchanged  bows  with  him.  Strabo  indi- 
cates that  the  wanderings  of  the  Great  King  were  con- 
fined to  the  territory  between  the  Danube  and  the 
Tyras  (the  Dniester),  which  includes  Moldavia  and 
Bessarabia.  If  he  remained  absent  from  the  Danube 
more  than  sixty  days  his  march  may  have  been  north 
along  the  west  bank  of  the  Dniester.  If  he  crossed 
that  river  and  penetrated  as  far  as  the  Bug,  it  must 
have  been  at  a  point  where  it  was  possible  to  ford  it. 
But  the  fact  that  we  have  no  certain  information  as  to 
how  far  Darius  penetrated  Scythia,  is  no  reason  why 


we  should  discredit  the  narrative  of  Herodotus,  and 
claim  that  the  Scythian  expedition  never  took  place. 
No  one  who  has  sought  to  challenge  the  narrative  in 
this  regard  has  been  able  to  assign  any  plausible  argu- 
ment for  the  assumption  that  the  account  of  the  ex- 
pedition is  a  mere  fiction.  Mr.  Grote  entertains  no 
doubt  that  Darius  marched  into  Scythia,  and  declares 
that  "  the  adventures  which  took  place  at  the  passage 
of  the  Danube,  both  on  the  out  march,  and  the  home 
march,  wherein  the  lonians  are  concerned,  are  far  more 
within  the  limits  of  history."  Canon  Rawlinson,  after 
a  thorough  and  exhaustive  examination  of  all  the  au- 
thorities, declares  that  the  fact  that  Darius  led  such 
an  expedition,  crossed  the  Bosphorus  at  Constantinople, 
ascended  the  Danube  and  crossed  it  into  Scythia,  and 
that  Miltiades  was  present  at  the  passage  of  the  Bos- 
phorus, and  later  at  the  Danube,  must  be  taken  to  be 
facts  "  as  assured  as  the  battle  of  Marathon  itself," 
and  that  Darius  penetrated  some  distance  into  what  is 
now  Wallachia  and  Moldavia  and  returned  without  at- 
taining any  success,  or  without  any  overwhelming  loss, 
is  also  certain. 

If  the  object  of  Darius,  in  leading  his  expedition  to 
the  Danube,  was  to  conquer  Scythia,  it  was  an  absolute 
failure.  But  the  design  of  the  Great  King  embraced 
the  idea  of  subduing  Thrace,  making  the  Danube  the 
northern  frontier  of  his  dominions  in  Europe,  to  be 
supplemented  ultimately  by  the  reduction  of  Hellas, 
and  the  extension  of  his  empire  to  the  extreme  western 
borders  of  the  continent.  In  order  to  attain  this  end 
he  detached  Magabazus  with  an  army  of  80,000,  direct- 
ing him  to  remain  in  Europe  to  complete  the  conquest 
of  Thrace.  That  energetic  commander,  subdued  Perin- 
thus  on  the  Propontis  (sea  of  Marmora),  extended  his 
dominions  westward  beyond  the  Hebrus  to  the  Strym- 
mon  and  finally  secured  the  allegiance  of  the  Mace- 
donians, who  became  tribute  allies  of  Darius.     He  es- 


If 


i84 


MIUTAllY   ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


tablished  forts  and  store-houses  on  the  Hebrus,  the 
Strymon  and  other  parts  of  Thrace,  which  were 
utilized  by  Xerxes,  on  his  memorable  march  through 
that  country  to  invade  Greece.  The  existence  of  these 
forts  and  bases  of  supplies,  years  before  the  time  of 
Xerxes,  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  strongest  proofs  that 
the  Scythian  expedition  took  place,  substanially  as  nar- 
rated by  Herodotus. 


CHAPTER    XII 

IONIAN    WARS  — BURNING    OF    SARDIS  —  MILITARY 

OPERATIONS   ON   COASTS  OF   ASIA  MINOR  — 

BATTLE    OF    LADE 


I  HE  strip  of  sea-coast  which  forms  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Asia  Minor  was  colonized  very 
early  by  Greeks,  attracted  by  the  grateful 
climate  and  commercial  advantages  of  these 
trans-^gean  regions.  Hellenic  colonies  in- 
habited the  states  of  JEolis,  Ionia  and  Doris,  which 
form  the  fringe  of  coast-line  immediately  adjoining  the 
kingdoms  of  Lydia  and  Caria.  What  are  known  as  the 
Ionian  Wars  derived  the  name  from  Ionia,  above  re- 
ferred to,  in  which  was  situated  the  important  cities  of 
Miletus,  which  is  built  on  the  mainland  adjacent  to  the 
island  of  Lade,  Priene,  Magnesia,  Ephesus,  Smyrna  and 
Phocea.  The  islands  of  Chios  and  Samos  belong  to 
Ionia;   Lesbos  to  ^olis;   and  Rhodes  to  Doris. 

Before  Cyrus  conquered  the  Medes  and  absorbed  their 
empire,  Croesus,  King  of  Lydia,  had  extended  his  juris- 
diction over  the  lonians.  He  did  not  attempt  to  wholly 
subjugate  the  Greeks,  but  established  an  alliance  with 
them,  whereby  they  agreed  to  contribute  to  the  revenues 
of  the  Lydian  monarch,  and  to  acknowledge  him  as 
their  nominal  sovereign,  in  return  for  which  Croesus 
permitted  them  to  enjoy  their  political  autonomy  and 
lent  them  military  aid  and  support  in  their  wars.  In 
other  words,  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor  for  a  long 
time  were  merely  tribute  allies  of  Croesus. 

After  Cyrus  destroyed  the  empire  of  the  Medes, 
Croesus  became  alarmed.     He  consulted  the  oracle  at 

185 


m 


'  i 


ii 


1 86 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


IONIAN    LEAGUE 


187 


Delphi  and  led  an  army  across  the  Halys  into  the 
dominions  of  Cyrus.  He  was  defeated  by  the  Persian 
monarch  and  retreated  to  Sardis,  his  ancient  capital. 
Cyrus  defeated  the  Lydian  cavalry  under  its  walls  and 
afterwards  took  the  city  and  made  Croesus  prisoner. 
The  Greek  cities  of  iEolis  and  Ionia  then  sent  ambas- 
sadors to  Cyrus,  and  offered  to  submit  to  his  rule  upon 
the  same  terms  and  conditions  which  Croesus  had 
granted  them.  Except  as  to  Miletus,  the  proffer  was 
refused,  and  the  Asiatic  Greeks  prepared  to  resist  the 
tyranny  threatened  by  the  arms  of  Persia.  Cyrus  left 
the  subjugation  of  the  /Eolians  and  lonians  to  his  gen- 
erals, while  he  began  his  campaigns  against  Assyria 
and  Babylonia  and  upper  Asia.  After  his  death,  the 
Greek  cities  in  his  dominions  having  been  subjugated, 
Cambyses  prosecuted  his  campaigns  in  Egypt.  When 
Darius  ascened  the  throne  of  Persia,  he  divided  his 
empire  into  twenty-three  satrapies  and  apportioned 
the  tribute  each  was  required  to  pay  into  the  royal 
treasury.  The  Greek  cities  on  the  sea-coast  were  em- 
braced in  the  satrapy  of  Sardis  over  which  he  ap- 
pointed his  brother  Artaphernes.  Thus  the  -Cohans 
and  lonians  late  in  the  sixth  century  B.  C.  became  sub- 
ject to  the  Persian  yoke. 

The  cause  of  the  Ionian  wars  was  the  desire  of  these 
cities  to  free  themselves  from  the  power  of  Darius  and 
to  re-establish  their  independence.  It  took  the  Persian 
monarch  six  years  to  subdue  their  formidable  revolt  in 
^^olis  and  Ionia.  The  war  commenced  by  the  attack 
upon  Sardis  which  was  burned  by  the  insurgents  aided 
by  a  contingent  from  Athens  and  Eretria,  after  which 
the  conspicuous  events  were  the  battle  of  Lade,  the 
siege  and  fall  of  Miletus,  and  the  reduction  of  the 
islands  Chios,  Lesbos  and  Tenedos.  A  brief  review  of 
the  character  and  progress  attained  by  the  lonians  at 
this  period  will  be  interesting. 

Long  before  Cyrus  had  conquered  Lydia  and  reduced 


the  Greek  cities  in  Ionia  and  the  adjacent  islands  to 
subjection,  the  Greek  colonists  which  flourished  along 
the  eastern  coasts  of  the  ^gean  were  highly  civilized 
and  excelled  in  literature,  art  and  philosophy.  They 
were  not  only  a  literary  people,  but  an  energetic,  com- 
mercial people.  They  were  the  most  skillful  seamen  and 
expert  sailors,  surpassing  even  the  Phoenicians,  who 
were  also  a  commercial  people,  with  fleets  of  merchant- 
men trading  with  all  parts  of  the  known  world. 

Before  the  kingdom  of  Lydia  was  founded,  and 
within  a  century  and  a  half  after  the  fall  of  Troy, 
Greeks  of  the  Ionian  race  migrated  from  Attica  and 
settled  on  the  west  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  where  they 
flourished  for  centuries.  In  the  time  of  Cyrus  the 
Great,  Ionia  embraced,  besides  islands  of  Samos  and 
Chios,  twelve  important  cities :  Phocaea,  the  most  north- 
erly; Clazomenae,  Erythrae,  Teos,  Lebedus,  Colophon, 
Ephesus,  Priene,  Myus  and  the  most  southerly  Miletus. 
Smyrna,  though  originally  ^olean,  subsequently  be- 
came an  Ionian  city  and  was  admitted  into  the  Ionian 
League,  know  also  as  the  Dodecapolis.  Three  of  these 
cities  were  located  at  or  near  the  mouths  of  the  three 
principal  rivers  which  flow  from  the  interior  westward 
into  the  ^gean  and  drain  the  most  fertile  valleys  in 
Asia  Minor.  Towards  the  south  Miletus  was  on  the 
promontory  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Maeander. 
Phocaea  on  the  north  was  located  on  the  gulf  of  Her- 
maeus,  a  short  distance  north  of  the  Hermus,  which 
flows  westward  through  Lydia,  almost  midway  be- 
tween Phoca?a  and  Miletus.  Ephesus  was  located  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Cayster,  which  flows  into  the  gulf  of  the 
same  name.  Miletus  was  the  chief  city  of  Asia  ^Minor. 
It  was  the  commercial  emporium  on  the  east  coast  of 
the  ^gean,  and  surpassed  its  neighbors  in  prosperity 
and  opulence.  Greek  mariners  and  merchantmen  of 
Asia  Minor  pursuing  their  commercial  enterprises  pene- 
trated to   the  outlying  frontiers   and   confines   of  the 


<4» 


ii 


i88 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


THALES    OF    MILETUS 


189 


known  world.  From  the  settlements  thus  established 
they  opened  commercial  intercourse  with  the  nomadic 
and  barbarous  tribes  north  of  the  Danube  and  the 
Euxine,  and  along  the  remote  coasts  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, beyond  the  Gates  of  Hercules,  or  the  straits 
of  Gibraltar.  They  founded  colonies  and  trading  posts 
in  these  far  away  and  almost  unknown  regions;  In 
Mauretania,  in  Africa,  in  Lusitania,  in  Spain ;  in  Italy, 
Sicily  and  Gaul,  and  along  the  northern  and  southern 
shores  of  the  Euxine  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Danube. 

Miletus  was  the  mother  city  of  eighty  colonies,  situ- 
ate on  the  Propontis,  or  sea  of  Marmora;  on  the 
Bosphorus,  in  modern  Bulgaria,  and  north  of  the  Ister 
or  the  Danube,  in  Scythia,  the  country  now  embraced 
in  the  provinces  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Roumania,  and  round  the  shores  of  the 
Euxine  or  Black  Sea,  in  southern  Russia,  and  on  the 
south  shore,  on  the  coasts  of  Bythnia,  Paphlagonia, 
Cappadocia,  now  Armenia,  and  on  the  east  in  Colchis, 
first  visited  by  Jason  in  search  of  the  Golden  Fleece, 
the  modern  Caucasia  embracing  Georgia  and  inhabited 
by  Caucasians.  The  principal  colony  on  the  south 
coast  was  Sinope,  in  Paphlagonia;  and  Trapezus 
and  Phasis  on  the  east  coast  at  the  mouth  of  the  Phasis, 
in  Colchis.  Istria  was  founded  at  the  southern  mouth 
of  the  Delta  of  the  Ister  (Danube). 

Miletus  was  also  the  mother  city  of  Tyras,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Tyras,  now  the  Dneister;  and  of 
Olbia  at  its  mouth,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Hypanis, 
now  the  Bug,  not  far  from  the  present  site  of  the  City 
Odessa.  Also  the  city  of  Tanais  on  the  Tanais,  now 
the  Don,  near  its  mouth.  They  founded  colonies  on 
the  Tauric  peninsula,  or  the  Taurian  Chersonese,  now 
the  Crimea,  near  the  modern  sites  of  Inkerman,  Bala- 
klava  and  Sevastopol. 

From  these  outposts  of  civilization,  the  Greek  sub- 
jects of  Darius  traded  with  the  natives  and  thus  be- 


came familiar  with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
Scythians,  upon  whose  frontiers  they  had  established 
themselves. 

The  intellectual  attainments  of  the  Greek  subjects 
of  Darius  are  further  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the 
City  of  Miletus  was  early  distinguished  as  a  seat  of 
philosophy,  literature  and  art.     One  of  its  most  em- 
inent citizens  was  Thales  (640-546  B.  C.)  bom  more 
than  a  century  before  Darius  undertook  his  expedition 
against  the  Scythians.     He  was  the  founder  of  Greek 
geometry,  astronomy  and  philosophy,  and  his  name  is 
the  most  conspicuous  of  the  seven  sages  of  Greece.     It 
was  Thales  who  calculated  the  solar  eclipse  which  oc- 
curred,   according    to    eminent    authorities.    May    28, 
B.  C.  585,  when  the  battle  of  the  Halys  above  referred 
to,  was  being   fought,   and  predicted   it   among   the 
lonians   long  before  it   took  place.     The   advance  of 
learning  among  the  Asiatic  Greeks  at  this  early  period 
will  be  appreciated  when  we  remember  the  proficiency 
in  knowledge  attained  by  Thales,  the  foremost  sage  of 
antiquity.     He  had  no  teacher,  except  when  he  visited 
Egypt  and  associated  with  the  priests.     In  his  discov- 
eries, however,  he  surpassed  the  Egyptians  in  scientific 
knowledge.      The   latter   understood  the   geometry   of 
surfaces;     Thales   discovered   the   geometry    of   lines, 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  science  of  algebra.     He 
was  the  first  who  applied  theoretical  geometry  to  the 
measurement  of  heights  and  distances.     He  divided  the 
year  into  365  days,  and  determined  the  diameter  of  the 
sun  to  be  the  720th  part  of  the  Zodiac.     He  discovered 
the  constellation  of  the  Lesser  Bear,  and  taught  the 
mariner  to  steer  by  it,  but  had  not  sufficiently  advanced 
in  the  field  of  scientific  discovery  to  learn  the  spherical 
form  of  the  earth.     Instead  of  a  globe  he  believed  it 
to  be  a  flat  disc.     Such  was  the  proficiency  in  learning 
attained  and  taught  among  the  Asiatic  Greeks  in  the 
age  of  Darius.     In  science  and  art,  philosophy  and 


I 


190 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


literature,  they  far  surpassed  all  of  the  subjects  of 
Darius  within  the  domain  of  the  Persian  Empire.  To 
his  Greek  subjects,  therefore,  Darius  looked  for  ma- 
terial aid  in  his  expedition  against  Scythia,  and  relied 
upon  their  superior  knowledge  and  skill  as  necessary 
to  enable  him  to  subjugate  Europe  north  of  the  Danube 
as  a  preliminary  step  to  his  ultimate  purpose,  to  en- 
slave Hellas  itself. 

The  knowledge  in  various  departments  of  learning 
acquired  by  the  ancients  challenges  our  admiration. 
Indeed  in  some  respects  they  surpassed  modern  scholars, 
and  were  familiar  with  branches  of  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences which  are  unknown  to  us.  These  attainments  ac- 
quired by  the  sages  of  antiquity  are  often  classed  or 
referred  to  as  the  lost  arts.  It  seems  clear,  however, 
that  the  early  investigators  were  unable  to  fathom  the 
secrets  of  nature  and  knew  nothing  of  experimental 
philosophy  or  the  law  of  gravitation.  The  paths  of 
learning  trod  by  Newton  and  Bacon,  Farrady  and  Edi- 
son were  unknown  to  them  and  they  never  conceived  of 
the  notable  discovery  made  in  our  time  by  KirchhofF 
of  Berlin  concerning  the  spectrum  analysis.  Thales  of 
Miletus  understood  mathematics  and  some  interesting 
facts  in  astronomy.  He  could  calculate  an  eclipse, 
but  he  could  not  weigh  the  earth,  or  determine  its 
specific  gravity.  He  understood  the  utility  of  the 
signs  of  the  Zodiac,  but  he  could  not  measure  the  en- 
ergy of  the  centrifugal  and  centripetal  forces  which 
hold  the  planets  in  their  orbits  and  sustain  the  harmony 
of  the  solar  system  and  of  the  stellar  universe.  Thales 
of  Miletus  was  apparently  ignorant  of  the  spherical 
form  of  the  earth,  and  although  he  was  familiar  to 
some  extent  with  the  movement  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
he  could  not  measure  the  parallax  of  a  star,  or  calculate 
the  distance  from  our  planet  to  the  sun ;  nor  tell  how 
far  the  moon,  hanging  in  the  heavens,  is  from  the  earth. 

Newton  discovered  the  nature  of  light  less  than  three 


HISTIJIUS     OF     MILETUS 


191 


centuries  ago.  KirchhofF  analyzed  it  and  his  discovery 
enabled  him  to  ascertain  the  composition  of  the  stars 
by  the  aid  of  his  spectrum  analysis,  and  of  the  sun  shi- 
ning through  infinity  of  space.  This  discovery  enabled 
the  scientists  to  measure  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  bil- 
lions of  miles  into  space  and  indicate  that  as  the  distance 
of  the  star  Arcturus  from  our  planet.  Wonderful  as 
were  the  attainments  of  Thales  of  Miletus,  still  more 
wonderful  are  the  attainments  of  modern  scholars. 

The  Ionian  revolt  was  instigated  by  Histiasus  of 
Miletus  and  his  son-in-law  and  cousin  Aristagoras.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  Histiajus  was  appointed  by 
Darius  governor  of  Miletus.  He  accompanied  his  sov- 
ereign on  his  Scythian  expedition,  an  account  of  which 
is  given  in  the  preceding  chapter.  During  the  absence 
of  Histiaeus  in  Europe,  Darius  appointed  Aristagoras 
governor  of  Miletus.  To  HisticX^us  Darius  owed  his 
life.  When  Miltiades,  governor  of  Cardia  and  the 
Thracian  Chersonese,  suggested  to  his  fellow  officers  to 
remove  the  bridge  of  boats  on  the  Ister  (Danube)  and 
allow  the  Persian  monarch  to  perish  in  the  wilds  of 
Scythia,  it  was  Histiaeus  who  succeeded  in  preventing 
the  design.  Darius,  in  recognition  of  these  services,  at 
the  request  of  Histiaeus,  gave  him  a  town  in  Thrace 
called  Myrcinus,  as  a  reward  for  his  services  in  pre- 
serving the  bridge.  This  province  of  Myrcinus  was  not 
far  from  the  Strymon,  four  or  ^ve  miles  north  of  the 
site  upon  which  the  Athenians,  some  years  later,  built 
the  city  of  Amphipolis.  It  will  be  remembered  also 
that  when  Darius  quitted  Europe,  he  ordered  Mega- 
bazus  to  remain  and  conquer  the  semi-barbarous  tribes 
of  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  and  for  that  purpose  as- 
signed him  an  army  of  eighty  thousand  men.  Some 
time  afterwards  Megabazus  discovered  that  Histiaeus 
was  fortifying  Myrcinus  and  building  a  wall  round  it. 
Megabazus  on  his  return  to  Sardis  reported  to  Darius 
what  was  being  done  by  Histiaeus.     He  informed  the 


192 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


King  that   the   subtle  and   crafty  Greek  possessed   a 
region  where  there  was  abundance  of  fine  timber  and 
rich  silver  mines,  and  that  he  had  surrounded  himself 
with   multitudes    of   Greeks   and   barbarians,   who    ac- 
knowledged him  as  their  leader,  and  were  ready  at  all 
times  to  do  his  bidding.     He  advised  Darius  that  it 
would  be  wise  for  him  to  invite  Histi^us  to  his  court  at 
Susa,  and  there  detain  him,  and  never  permit  him  to 
return   to   the  Greeks,  if  he   would  prevent   domestic 
war.    Darius  sent  a  kindly  message  to  Histiaus,  assur- 
ing the  latter  of  his  confidence,  saying  he  had  planned 
certain  things  which  he  desired  Histi»us   to  execute 
and  secured  his  presence  at  Susa.     While  Histiaeus  was 
thus  detained,  virtually  a  prisoner  under  the  eye  of 
Darius,  an  insurrection  broke  out  in  the  opulent  and 
prosperous  wine-island  of  Naxos,  one  of  the  larger  of 
the  Cyclades,  immediately  east  of  the  island  of  Paros. 
The  people  grew  weary  of  the  oppression  they  suf- 
fered under  the  oligarchy  which  had  been  established, 
overthrew  it,  substituted  a  democracy,  and  drove  the 
oligarchical  party  into  exile.     Prominent  members  of 
the  latter  fled  to  Miletus,  and  implored  the  aid  of  Aris- 
tagoras  and  besought  him  to  subdue  the  island  and 
restore  them  in  power  and  authority. 

The  popular  party  in  Naxos  had  gathered  a  strong 
navy  and  an  army  of  eighty  thousand  heavy  armed. 
Anstagoras,  alone,  was  not  able  to  cope  with  them.  He 
therefore  applied  to  Artaphernes,  satrap  of  Sardis, 
who  m  turn  sought  the  sanction  and  approval  of  his 
brother.  King  Darius,  who  authorized  two  hundred 
triremes  from  his  ports  in  Asia  Minor  to  be  got  in 
readiness  and  collected  a  large  army,  the  command 
of  which  he  assigned  to  his  nephew,  Megabates.  The 
expedition  was  designed  to  subdue  not  only  Naxos,  but 
Paros,  Andros  and  Euboea  also. 

This  armament  was  dispatched  by  Artaphernes  to 
Anstagoras,  at  Miletus.    The  Naxian  exiles  were  taken 


EXPEDITION    TO    NAXOS 


193 


on  board,  and  the  fleet  under  the  direction  of  Aris- 
tagoras  put  to  sea.  In  order  to  conceal  their  real 
destination,  the  expedition  sailed  northwesterly  as  if 
bound  for  the  Hellespont,  but  when  they  reached  Chios, 
steered  directly  for  Naxos.  One  night,  Megabates  went 
the  rounds  of  the  various  triremes  to  inspect  the 
watches.  On  going  aboard  a  Myndian  ship,  com- 
manded by  Scylax,  a  friend  of  Aristagoras,  he  found 
that  no  watch  had  been  detailed,  whereupon  he  ordered 
that  Scylax  be  bound,  and  placed  in  a  lower  rowlock, 
through  which  the  prisoner's  head  projected.  When 
it  was  reported  to  Aristagoras  that  his  Myndian  friend 
had  been  punished  and  disgraced,  he  interceded  for 
him,  but  the  Persian  commander  refused  to  release 
Scylax.  A  quarrel  resulted,  in  which  Aristagoras 
claimed  that  Artaphernes  had  given  him,  and  not  Mega- 
bates, supreme  command.  The  proud  Persian  deeply 
incensed  at  the  conduct  of  the  Greek  governor  of  Mile- 
tus, determined  to  defeat  the  success  of  the  expedition, 
rather  than  see  his  enemy  triumph.  He  secretly  dis- 
patched some  men  in  a  ship,  bade  them  sail  to  Naxos 
and  apprise  the  islanders  of  their  danger.  The 
Naxians,  on  being  informed  of  the  approach  of  the 
hostile  fleet,  returned  within  their  walls  and  made 
preparations  for  a  protracted  siege.  When  the  expe- 
dition from  Miletus  arrived,  they  were  surprised  to  find 
the  islanders  well  fortified.  Aristagoras  remained  at 
Naxos  four  months,  when,  finding  his  provisions  ex- 
hausted, he  was  obliged  to  give  up  the  siege,  having 
accomplished  nothing.  He  built  a  fortress  for  the 
Naxian  exiles,  and  returned  to  Asia. 

Aristagoras  now  faced  ruin  and  despair.  He  had 
failed  to  make  good  his  promises  to  Artaphernes,  be- 
cause his  ambitious  undertaking  resulted  in  failure.  He 
had  incurred  the  hatred  of  Megabates,  a  nephew  of 
both  Darius  and  Artaphernes,  and  was  in  dread  lest  he 
should  be  deprived  of  the  government  of  Miletus.    His 


I 


f 
1*1 


194 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


AEISTAGOEAS    APPEALS    TO    SPARTA 


195 


father-m-law,  Histiaeus,  who  was  under  suspicion  at  the 
court  of  Darius,  planned  to  escape  from  Susa,  and  sent 
a  message  to  Aristagoras,  to  inaugurate  a  revolt  among 
the  Greek  cities,  believing  that  in  the  event  of  civil  war, 
he  might  be  sent  to  the  coast  in  command  of  a  body 
of  troops,  to  quell  the  insurrection. 

Aristagoras  then  conferred  with  his  loyal  supporters, 
all  of  whom  counselled  revolt  against  Darius,  with  the' 
sole  exception  of  Hecataeus,  the  historian,  who  reminded 
his  friends  of  the  vast  power  and  resources  of  the  Per- 
sian monarch.  Being  unable  to  dissuade  Aristagoras, 
he  advised  him  to  make  himself  master  of  the  sea,  but 
reminded  him  that  he  must  have  money  to  carry  on  his 
war.  He  suggested  that  he  should  seize  the  vast  treas- 
ures in  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Branchis,  which  had 
been  bestowed  by  Crcesus.  These  wise  and  prudent 
counsels,  for  some  reason,  were  not  followed.  Aris- 
tagoras, however,  revolted  from  the  authority  of 
Darius,  and  thus  inaugurated  the  Ionian  War. 

The  first  act  of  the  leader  of  the  revolutionary  party 
was  to  overthrow  the  tyrannies  in  every  city  in  Ionia 
Aristagoras  knew  that  the  Greeks  would  not  fight  for 
a  tyranny.     For  this  reason  he  ordered  the  removal  of 
the  governors,  or  tyrants  of  all  the  cities,  and  called 
upon  the  people  to  establish  democracies  in  each  and 
elect  their  own  magistrates.     The  various  governors, 
who  had  accompanied  the  fleet  to  Naxos,  who  were  not 
expelled,  were  seized  by  stratagem,  and  delivered  to  the 
new  magistrates  or  popular  assemblies.     In  some  in- 
stances they  were  released,  but  the  people  of  Mitylene 
when  their  tyrant  Goes  was  delivered  to  them,  led  him 
out  and  stoned  him  to  death.     Thus  the  oligarchies 
were  overthrown  and  democracy  established. 

Aristagoras  knew  that  it  was  well  nigh  impossible 
ior  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor  alone  to  contend 
successfully  against  the  unlimited  resources  of  the  Per- 
sian empire.     He  believed  that  his  kinsmen  in  HeUas 


might  be  persuaded  to  aid  the  cause  of  liberty,  and 
assist  their  countrymen  to  destroy  the  power  of  Darius, 
and  spread  the  influence  of.  Hellas  in  the  trans-^gean 
countries  of  western  Asia.  With  this  end  in  view  he 
applied  first  to  Sparta,  deeming  the  Lacedaemonians  the 
most  powerful  of  the  Hellenese.  He  pleaded  his  cause 
to  Cleomenes,  to  whom  he  pictured  the  wealth  and  re- 
sources of  the  kingdom  of  Darius.  He  reminded  the 
Spartan  that  the  Persians  were  not  valiant,  and  fought 
only  with  bows  and  short  spears.  When  in  line  of  battle 
they  wore  loose  trousers,  and  turbans  on  their  heads, 
and  were  no  match  for  the  warriors  of  Sparta.  When 
Aristagoras  had  finished  his  appeal,  he  was  promised 
an  answer  in  three  days.  At  the  time  appointed,  Aris- 
tagoras was  asked  by  Cleomenes  how  far  it  was  from 
the  coast  of  Ionia  to  the  palace  of  Darius  at  Susa. 
He  was  told  the  distance  was  three  months'  journey. 
On  learning  this  the  Milesian  was  bidden  depart  from 
Sparta  before  sunset,  as  the  Lacedaemonians  would  not 
advance  into  an  enemy's  country  three  month's  journey 
from  the  sea.  Thus  Aristagoras  failed  to  draw  the 
Spartans  into  Asia. 

The  Milesian  then  journeyed  to  Attica  and  appealed 
for  aid  to  the  Athenians.  The  time  was  opportune, 
for  the  Athenians  had  concluded  their  wars  to  over- 
throw the  tyranny  which  Hippias  had  established,  and 
had  substituted  in  their  stead  a  democracy  under  the 
leadership  of  Clisthenes.  Hippias  sought  to  persuade 
the  Lacedaemonians  to  espouse  his  cause  against  the 
Athenians.  His  efforts  failed  and  he  fled  to  Asia.  He 
was  well  received  at  Sardis  by  Artaphernes,  to  whom 
he  made  false  accusations  concerning  the  Athenians, 
and  appealed  to  him  to  restore  him  as  tyrant  of  Athens, 
and  subject  not  only  Attica,  but  all  Greece  to  the 
power  of  Darius  and  Hippias.  When  the  Athenians 
learned  what  Hippias  contemplated,  they  sent  ambas- 
sadors to  Sardis,  warning  the  Persians  not  to  credit 


III 


196 


MILITAEY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


BUAKING   OF   SARDIS 


197 


Hippias  and  the  political  exiles  who  accompanied  him. 
Artaphernes,  however,  told  the  ambassadors  if  they 
desired  to  avert  war,  they  must  restore  Hippias  to 
power  on  certain  conditions,  named  by  the  Persians. 
The  Athenians  rejected  the  proposals  and  declared 
themselves  enemies  of  the  Persians; 

At  this  juncture  Aristagoras  arrived  at  Athens  and 
pleaded  his  cause  before  the  public  assembly  on  the  hill 
of  the  Pnyx.  His  appeal  fell  upon  willing  ears.  The 
Athenians  were  persuaded,  and  the  Assembly  voted  to 
send  a  squadron  of  twenty  triremes  to  succor  the 
lonians,  and  assigned  Melanthius  to  the  command  of 
the  expedition.  "  These  ships,"  observes  Herodotus, 
"  were  the  source  of  calamities  both  to  the  Greeks  and 
barbarians." 

Aristagoras  did  not  wait  for  the  ships  to  be  fitted 
out,  but  sailed  to  Miletus.  In  order  to  harass  the 
Persians  in  every  possible  way  he  sent  a  messenger  to 
Phrygia  to  the  Thracian  colony,  which  Megabazus  had 
brought  from  Peonia  on  the  Strymon.  The  Peonians 
were  told  that  all  Ionia  had  revolted  from  Darius,  and 
that  they  could  now  return  to  their  native  land,  if  they 
could  but  reach  the  sea-coast.  The  Thracians  were 
eager  to  be  liberated  from  the  land  of  bondage.  They 
made  haste  to  follow  the  advice  of  the  envoy  of  Aris- 
tagoras, and  reached  the  island  of  Chios  just  in  time 
to  escape  a  strong  body  of  Persian  cavalry,  who  pur- 
sued, but  failed  to  overtake  them.  The  Persians  then 
sent  a  messenger  to  the  island  begging  the  Peonians 
to  return.  The  flattering  inducements  held  out  by  the 
Persians  were  refused.  Aided  by  Chians  and  Lesbians, 
the  Thracians  arrived  at  Doriscus,  whence  they  came 
safely  again  into  Peonia,  their  native  province. 

Shortly  after  the  departure  of  the  Milesian,  the 
Athenians  arrived  with  their  squadron  at  Ephesus. 
They  were  accompanied  by  ^ve  triremes  from  Eretria. 
Aristagoras  assembled  his  forces  and  joined  them  at 


Ephesus,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cayster,  whence  they 
proceeded  on  a  campaign  into  Lydia,  with  Sardis  as  the 
objective  point  of  the  expedition. 

Sardis  was  on  the  Pactolus,  about  forty-five  miles 
east  of  Smyrna.  It  was  built  on  the  northern  slope  of 
Mount  Tmolus,  and  was  well  fortified  except  on  the 
precipitous  mountain  side,  which  was  deemed  inacces- 
sible. The  ships  of  the  lonians  and  their  aUies  were 
left  at  a  seaport  under  Mount  Thorax,  about  ^ve 
miles  from  Ephesus.  The  troops  under  Charopinus 
proceeded  up  the  valley  of  the  Cayster,  conducted  by 
scouts  famihar  with  the  mountain  roads  and  passes, 
till  they  reached  a  point  at  which  they  were  separated 
from  Sardis  only  by  the  mountain  range  of  Tmolus. 
They  crossed  the  heights,  descended  into  the  valley  of 
the  Pactolus,  and  made  a  direct  attack  upon  Sardis. 
Artaphernes  resisted  the  assaults  of  the  enemy,  who  set 
fire  to  the  city.  Artaphernes  withdrew  into  the  citadel 
which  he  held  until  reinforcements  arrived.  The  Per- 
sians then  made  an  aggressive  attack  upon  the  enemy, 
who,  being  largely  outnumbered,  fled  in  good  order, 
but  before  they  arrived  at  Ephesus,  they  were  over- 
taken. A  severe  engagement  took  place  near  that 
city  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  Greeks  and 
lonians. 

After  the  defeat  of  the  lonians  at  Ephesus,  the 
Athenians,  for  reasons  satisfactory  to  themselves,  con- 
cluded to  withdraw  their  alliance,  and  return  to  their 
own  country.  When  Darius  learned  that  Sardis  had 
been  burned  and  that  the  rebels  were  aided  in  the  work 
of  destruction  by  a  detachment  of  obscure  foreigners, 
he  inquired  who  these  insolent  strangers  were  who  as- 
sumed to  enter  his  dominions  and  strike  a  blow  at  his 
sovereignty.  He  was  informed  they  were  Athenians. 
"The  Athenians,"  he  said,  "who  are  they.?"  When 
told  that  they  dwelt  in  Hellas  in  Attica,  he  took  an  oath 
to  be  revenged,  and  shooting  an  arrow  into  the  heavens, 


198 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


TREACHEEY    OF    HISTIJEUS 


199 


he  instructed  his  cup-bearer,  thrice  daily,  at  his  mid- 
day meal  to  bid  him  remember  the  Athenians.  He  was 
unable  to  fulfill  his  threat,  however,  until  after  the 
Ionian  insurrection  had  been  put  down,  which  required 
a  period  of  six  years. 

After  the  burning  of  Sardis,  the  revolt  spread  along 
the  shores  of  Asia  involving  the  coast  islands,  'in- 
cluding the  island  of  Cyprus.  The  Phoenicians,  the 
best  mariners  in  his  dominions,  who  remained  loyal  to 
Darius,  took  an  active  part  in  the  succeeding  cam- 
paigns. A  strong  Phoenician  fleet  was  sent  out  to  re- 
duce the  island  of  Cyprus,  which  was  accomplished  in 
a  year.  The  lonians  fitted  out  a  fleet  which  sailed  to 
the  Hellespont  and  thence  to  Byzantium,  which  they 
captured,  and  the  cities  in  the  immediate  vicinity  yielded 
obedience  to  the  rebels. 

Darius,  after  the  affair  at  Sardis,  sent  for  Histiffius, 
and  informed  him  that  he  had  information  which  in- 
volved him  as  a  party  to  the  revolt.  But  Histiseus  per- 
suaded his  sovereign  that  he  had  been  falsely  accused, 
and  was  entirely  innocent  of  complicity  with  Aristago- 
ras.  He  told  Darius  that  if  he  would  give  him  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  troops  that  he  would  proceed  to  the 
coast,  and  make  short  work  of  the  rebellion.  He  then 
took  an  oath  that,  if  entrusted  with  this  mission,  he 
would  not  change  the  garments  he  should  wear  as  an 
officer  in  Ionia  until  he  had  not  only  put  down  the  in- 
surrection, but  made  Sardinia  the  largest  island  in  the 
world  tributary  to  Darius.  The  King  was  persuaded 
by  the  false  boasts  of  Histiapus,  and  bade  him  proceed 
to  the  coast,  make  good  his  promises,  and  then  return 
to  Susa. 

In  the  meantime  the  war  progressed  and  many  en- 
gagements took  place  on  land  and  sea,  until  finally 
Persian  forces  entered  Ionia  and  ^olis.  Aristagoras 
then  became  alarmed  for  his  personal  safety.  He  held 
a  conference  with   his   advisers   in  Miletus,  and  sug- 


gested that  he  proceed  to  Sardinia  or  to  Myrcinus  in 
Thrace  to  found  a  colony,  in  which  they  could  take 
refuge  if  the  war  went  against  them.  Hecataeus,  the 
historian,  and  others  opposed  the  plan.  But  Aristago- 
ras gathered  a  force  of  his  own  and  went  to  Myrcinus 
in  Thrace,  the  city  given  to  Histiaeus,  by  Darius,  and 
which  he  had  begun  to  fortify.  There,  while  laying 
siege  to  a  Thracian  city,  Aristagoras  and  all  his  army 
perished  at  the  hands  of  the  Thracians. 

Histiaeus,  when  he  left  Susa,  commissioned  to  suppress 
the  rebellion  in  Ionia,  repaired  to  Sardis  to  confer 
with  the  satrap  Artaphernes.  The  latter,  who  dis- 
trusted Histiaeus,  inquired  of  him  what  he  believed  to 
be  the  reason  for  the  insurrection.  Histiaeus  affected 
surprise  and  assured  the  satrap  that  he  was  entirely 
ignorant  of  the  cause.  Whereupon  Artaphernes  made 
the  significant  remark,  "The  truth  is,  Histiasus,  you 
made  the  shoe,  and  Aristagoras  put  it  on."  At  night- 
fall Histiaeus,  fearing  that  he  might  soon  be  appre- 
hended as  one  of  the  conspirators  with  Aristagoras, 
fled  and  besought  the  lonians  to  confer  upon  him  a 
command,  having  offered  to  fight  in  their  defence. 
Through  treachery  on  the  part  of  his  messenger,  he 
became  involved  in  treasonable  correspondence  which 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Artaphernes.  He  fled  to  Chios, 
and  thence  to  Lesbos,  where  he  succeeded  in  getting  a 
squadron  of  eight  triremes,  whence  he  sailed  to  Byzan- 
tium. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Persians  concluded  to  concen- 
trate their  forces  against  Miletus,  believing  that  if  they 
could  take  the  city,  the  Ionian  rebellion  could  speedily 
be  suppressed.  With  this  end  in  view,  they  collected 
their  land  and  naval  forces. 

The  Milesians,  when  they  learned  that  an  effort 
would  be  made  to  reduce  their  city,  determined  to  fight 
at  sea,  and  mass  their  navy  at  Lade,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  bay  of  Latmus,   and  there  make  the  defence  of 


w 


200 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


BATTLE    or    LADE 


20I 


Miletus,  leaving  the  inhabitants  in  case  of  defeat  to 
defend  their  walls. 

Lade,  in  the  fifth  century  B.  C,  was  a  small  island 
at  the  mouth  of  the  bay  of  Latmus,  opposite  the  city 
of  Miletus.  The  river  M«ander  flowed  through  the 
valley  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Messogis  on  the  north,  and 
Mount  Latmus  on  the  south,  and  discharged  its  waters 
through  two  mouths  into  the  bay  of  Latmus.  Mount 
Mycale  is  a  continuation  of  Mount  Messogis  project- 
ing from  a  peninsula  into  the  sea  almost  to  the  shores 
of  the  island  of  Samos.  South  of  this  peninsula  is 
another  into  which  Mount  Grion  projects,  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  which,  opposite  the  small  island  of  Lade, 
stood  the  city  Miletus. 

Miletus,  Myus  and  Priene  were  three  maritime  cities 
situated  on  the  bay  of  Latmus  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Maeander.  Priene  was  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Mycale  on 
the  north,  Miletus  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Grion  on  the 
south,  the  two  cities  being  immediately  opposite  each 
other  across  the  bay.  Myus  was  to  the  east  at  the  foot 
of  Mount  Latmus,  also  on  the  shores  of  the  bay  of 
Latmus  in  the  delta  formed  by  the  mouths  of  the 
Mffiander. 

The  locality  now  has  changed  materially.  The  al- 
luvial deposits  washed  into  the  bay  of  Latmus  for  cen- 
turies caused  the  waters  to  recede  and  the  coast  line 
to  gradually  extend ;  so  that  what  was  once  the  island 
of  Lade  is  now  a  hillock  on  a  plain.  The  locality  where 
the  navies  contended  at  the  siege  of  Miletus  is  now  dry 
land. 

In  the  memorable  engagement  at  Lade,  the  lonians 
assembled  a  fleet  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  ships  de- 
ployed in  line  of  battle  as  follows :  The  east  wing  was 
held  by  the  Milesians  with  eighty  ships;  the  Samians 
occupied  the  west  wing  with  sixty.  Next  the  Milesians 
on  the  east  wing  were  the  Prienians  with  twelve  ships, 
and  the  Myusians  with  three;    then  the  Teians  with 


seventeen ;  then  the  Chians  with  one  hundred ;  next  to 
these  were  the  Erythraeans  and  Phocaeans,  the  former 
with  eight  ships,  the  latter  with  three;  next  in  order 
were  the  Lesbians  with  seventy  ships,  joining  the 
Samians  on  the  west  wing. 

The  fleet  of  the  Persians  consisted  of  six  hundred 
ships,  but  knowing  well  the  courage  of  the  enemy,  all 
of  whom  were  expert  seamen,  they  doubted  whether 
they  would  be  able  to  defeat  them  at  sea.  Before  haz- 
arding a  battle,  they  endeavored  to  bribe  their  leaders, 
and  sent  the  governors,  who  had  been  exiled  by  the 
lonians  to  approach  their  countrymen,  and  to  promise 
them  great  rewards  if  they  would  renew  their  alle- 
giance to  Darius.  If  they  refused,  they  were  to  tell  them 
that  if  they  were  conquered  in  battle,  they  would  be 
sold  into  slavery ;  their  sons  would  be  made  eunuchs, 
their  daughters  bartered  to  the  Bactrians,  and  their 
country  given  to  others.  But  the  lonians  were  stead- 
fast. 

They  might  have  succeeded  at  Lade,  had  they  been 
willing  to  submit  to  the  training  and  discipline  inaug- 
urated by  Dionysius  of  Phocaea.  He  offered  to  assume 
command  of  the  fleet,  if  they  would  obey  him.  He  re- 
minded them  that  if  they  were  willing  to  undergo  hard- 
ships, they  would  overcome  the  enemy.  The  alternative 
was  chains  and  slavery.  They  assented  and  Dionysius, 
knowing  the  value  of  thorough  training,  daily  caused 
the  ships  to  form  in  line.  He  then  exercised  the  rowers, 
practised  them  in  the  manoeuvre  of  cutting  through  one 
another's  lines.  He  also  put  the  marines  under  drill 
and  kept  the  ships  at  anchor.  For  seven  days  they 
continued  to  obey  Dionysius,  and  then  doggedly  refused 
to  continue  the  drill.  The  weather  was  hot,  many  be- 
came ill,  unaccustomed  to  such  unusual  toil  in  the  hot 
sun.  Worn  by  fatigue,  they  pitched  their  tents  on  the 
island  to  enjoy  the  pleasant  shade,  and  refreshing 
breezes. 


u 


202 


MILTTAEY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


DIONYSIUS    OF     PHOC^A 


203 


The  commanders  from  Samos  perceived  that  the  dis- 
order and  disobedience  which  prevailed  presaged  defeat 
and  disaster.  They  again  opened  negotiations  with 
their  exiled  governor,  who  had  promised  them  immunity 
and  arranged  to  desert  the  fleet,  when  the  engagement 
commenced.  The  Lesbians,  also,  seem  to  have  been  a 
party  to  this  agreement.  The  Persian  commander, 
knowing  that  treachery  would  give  him  victory,  then 
attacked  the  Ionian  fleet.  When  the  line  of  battle  was 
formed,  the  lonians  beheld  with  consternation  and  dis- 
may the  Samian  ships  sail  away,  and  desert  their  allies. 
The  Lesbians  followed.  These  movements  caused  a 
momentary  panic.  Their  forces  had  been  depleted  by 
the  absence  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  ships.  But  the 
love  of  liberty  prevailed,  and  those  who  remained  loyal 
fought  with  great  determination,  until  they  were  finally 
overpowered  by  superior  numbers.  Thus  the  island  of 
Lade  was  taken  and  the  Ionian  navy  defeated. 

After  this  naval  engagement,  the  Persians  besieged 
Miletus,  both  by  land  and  sea,  using  in  the  siege  all 
kinds  of  devices  and  military  engines  which  were  known 
in  that  age.  They  resorted  also  to  driving  mines  under 
the  walls  of  the  city.  The  Milesians  were  finally 
obliged  to  capitulate  and  the  fleets  and  armies  of 
Darius  took  the  city  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  war,  pre- 
sumably about  B.  C.  594.  All  the  inhabitants  who  were 
not  slain  were  reduced  to  slavery.  The  wives  and  chil- 
dren of  those  who  were  butchered  were  sold.  Those 
of  the  adult  male  population  whose  lives  were  spared 
were  carried  captives  to  Susa.  Darius  for  some  un- 
accountable reason,  shall  we  say,  in  the  plenitude  of 
his  mercy,  as  the  word  mercy  was  understood  in  that 
age  of  tyranny,  did  not  treat  them  with  cruelty,  but 
established  them  at  Ampe,  a  city  somewhere  on  the 
shores  of  the  Erythrean  Sea  (supposed  in  this  instance 
to  mean  the  Persian  Gulf),  near  the  spot  where  the 
Tigris  flows  into  it. 


Many  escaped  out  of  Asia.  The  Samians  migrated 
to  Sicily  and  established  themselves  on  that  fertile 
island.  Dionysius,  the  great  disciplinarian  and  intrepid 
commander  at  the  battle  of  Lade,  captured  three  Per- 
sian ships  and  when  he  saw  that  the  day  was  irretriev- 
ably lost,  sailed  directly  to  the  Mediterranean  and 
plundered  the  coasts  of  Phoenicia.  He  then  became  a 
pirate,  a  calling  wliich  was  considered  altogether  re- 
spectable in  that  age,  and  figured  as  one  of  the  famous 
corsairs  of  his  time.  Pie  ravaged  the  coasts  of  Africa 
and  amassed  great  wealth  in  his  new  pursuit.  He  per- 
mitted no  harm,  however,  to  befall  the  Greeks,  being 
proud  of  his  Hellenic  blood  and  endowed  with  com- 
mendable patriotism. 

So  the  Ionian  revolution  failed,  not  because  of  lack 
of  courage  or  patriotic  devotion,  but  because  the  Greek 
cities  of  Asia,  like  the  Greek  cities  of  Hellas,  while  they 
loved  freedom  and  hated  tyranny,  would  not  yield 
enough  of  their  independence  and  political  autonomy 
for  the  common  weal,  in  order  to  secure  unity,  and  col- 
lective harmony.  They  believed  in  democracy,  in  free- 
dom, in  political  independence,  but  failed  to  appreciate 
the  fact  that  to  secure  and  make  permanent  these  ends, 
it  was  absolutely  essential  to  act  in  unison,  and  work  in 
unison,  in  order  to  unite  their  energies,  and  fight  only 
the  common  enemy,  and  thereby  avoid  fighting  among 
themselves,  about  mere  trifles,  engendered  by  foolish 
prejudices.  The  lonians,  had  they  followed  the  advice 
of  Dionysius,  submitted  to  his  discipline,  and  loyally 
supported  his  leadership,  might  easily  have  won  the 
battle  of  Lade,  saved  Miletus,  and  secured  their  inde- 
pendence. The  Persians  themselves  had  no  confidence 
in  their  own  ability  to  defeat  the  enemy  in  that  naval 
engagement.  They  feared  to  join  battle  in  the  bay 
of  Latmus,  until  they  had  first  resorted  to  bribery, 
and  learned  that  they  might  win  by  the  aid  of  treach- 
ery. 


I 


'J 


r 


204 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


FATE    OF    HISTIiEUS 


20S 


In  this  connection  history  records  the  fate  of  the 
unfortunate  Histiaeus.    It  will  be  remembered  that  after 
he  had  fled  from  Sardis,  and  was  refused  a  command 
by  the  lonians,  he  went  to  Lesbos  and  there  secured 
eight  triremes.    With  these  he  sailed  to  the  Hellespont, 
and   became  a  pirate.     He  seized   all  the   ships  that 
sailed  out  of  the  Propontis  (Sea  of  Marmora)  except 
such   as  were  willing  to   submit  to  him.     He  was  at 
Byzantium  when  he  learned  the  fate  of  Miletus.     He 
then  assigned  Bisaltes,  one  of  his  officers,  to  take  charge 
of  affairs  on  the  Bosphorus,  and  taking  the  Lesbians 
with  him,  made  a  descent  upon  Chios,  and  with  force 
and  arms  plundered  the  island,  slew  many  of  the  in- 
habitants, and  reduced  to  subjection  those  whose  lives 
had  been  spared.     Notwithstanding  his  hostile  incur- 
sions in  Ionia,  he  succeeded  in  enlisting  in  his  service 
a  body  of  lonians  and  Cohans,  and  with  these  he  made 
an  attack  on  Thasos.     While  engaged  in  the  siege  of 
the  principal  city  on  the  island,  he  received  intelligence 
that  a  well  equipped  Phoenician  fleet  had  sailed  from 
Miletus  to  make  war  on  those  parts  of  Ionia  which  still 
refused  to  yield  allegiance  to  Darius.     Histiaus  then 
abandoned  his  operations  at  Thasos,  and  sailed  with  all 
his  forces  to  Lesbos.    Shortly  after  his  arrival,  his  sup- 
plies became  exhausted.    Histiaeus  then  crossed  the  chan- 
nel from  Lesbos  to  ^olis   on   the  continent.     From 
thence  he  entered  the  plain  of  Caicus,  in  the  territory 
of  Mysia,  to  reap  the  corn  and  grain  in  the  fields. 
Harpagus,  a  Persian  general,  with  a  considerable  force 
happened  to  be  in  the  vicinity.    He  learned  of  the  pres- 
ence of  the  marauding  army,  attacked  them,  took  His- 
tiaeus prisoner  and  almost  annihilated  his  forces.     His- 
tiasus   contrived  to  escape,  but  was   overtaken  in  his 
flight  and  would  have  been  stabbed  by  his  captor,  had 
he  not  revealed  his  identity.    He  was  brought  to  Arta- 
phernes  at  Sardis,  who  knowing  the  apparent  fondness 
which  Darius  entertained  for  Histiaeus,  and  fearing  the 


monarch  would  spare  the  life  of  the  traitor,  immedi- 
ately ordered  his  execution.  After  he  had  been  im- 
paled, Artaphernes  ordered  that  his  head  should  be 
embalmed  and  sent  to  Darius  at  Susa.  The  Persian 
monarch  was  much  incensed  at  the  conduct  of  his 
brother,  because  he  did  not  send  his  prisoner  alive  to 
the  court  at  Susa.  He  ordered  that  the  head  of  the 
governor  of  Miletus  be  washed  and  adorned,  and  di- 
rected it  to  be  buried  with  honors,  notwithstanding  his 
treasonable  conduct  towards  his  sovereign.  Darius 
must  have  believed  in  the  innocence  of  Histiaeus  and 
regarded  the  man  who  once  saved  his  life  on  the  Danube, 
as  his  friend  and  benefactor. 


» 


CHAPTER    XIII 

FIRST  PERSIAN  WAR  — MARATHON 

MARATHON  ~  mar-a-thon  [Mapae<hp]  —A  plain  six  miles 
long  and  a  mile  and  a  half  wide,  extending  along  the  bay  of 
Marathon  on  the  northeast  coast  of  Attica.  It  is  distant  about 
twenty-six  miles  from  Athens  by  the  most  traveled  road  between 
the  mountain  ranges  of  Hymettus  and  Pentelicus.  Back  of  the 
sea  extends  a  chain  of  rocky  hills  and  rugged  mountains  en- 
circling the  plain.  Above  one  of  the  valleys  or  passes  throujrh 
these  hUls  is  the  hamlet  of  Vrana  from  which  point,  it  is  believed, 
the  greeks  charged  the  Persians  who  suffered  defeat  September 
A  If  Dt  iJ«  490. 

HE  campaign  of  the  First  Persian  War,  B.  C. 
490,  which  was  begun  in  Euboea  and  ended 
with  the  battle  of  Marathon,  was  the  most 
notable,  and  perhaps  the  most  important  in 
the  history  of  Greece.  The  prestige  of  that 
victory  enabled  the  Hellenese  to  defeat  the  Persians  ten 
years  later  at  Salamis,  and  in  the  following  year  at 
Platea  and  Mycale.  These  campaigns  ended  for  all 
time  the  ambition  of  the  despots  of  Asia,  to  extend 
their  dominions  on  the  soil  of  Europe. 

At  Marathon  occurred  the  first  formidable  clash  be- 
tween Persia  and  Hellas,  on  the  shores  of  Europe.  The 
contest  was  conducted  by  an  army  of  slaves  sent  by 
Darius,  and  a  handful  of  freemen  determined  to  pre- 
vent the  conquest  of  Greece.  What  Lexington  and 
Concord  and  Bunker  Hill  meant  to  the  American  col- 
onies, Marathon  meant  to  the  free  cities  of  Hellas.  At 
Marathon  the  Athenians  fought  for  independence. 
That  engagement  was  the  first  clash  in  the  irrepressible 
conflict,  which  was  to  determine  whether  the  west  should 

206 


CAUSES    OF    THE    WAE 


207 


remain  free  or  become  part  of  the  dominions  of  the 
sovereign  of  Asia,  whose  object  was  universal  empire. 
The  duel  was  on  in  earnest.  The  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence for  Greece  was  embraced  in  the  answer  given 
by  Callimachus  to  Miltiades,  when  the  Athenian  gen- 
erals were  evenly  divided  as  to  whether  they  should 
retreat  or  attack  the  army  of  Datis  and  Tisaphemes, 
which  outnumbered  the  Greeks  ten  to  one.  Callimachus, 
as  Archon-Polemarch,  had  the  casting  vote.  On  that 
vote  the  destinies  of  Greece  depended.  He  was  to  de- 
cide whether  to  enslave  Athens  by  declining  to  give 
battle,  or  by  fighting,  preserve  its  liberties,  and  leave 
a  memorial  of  himself  to  every  age.  Callimachus  de- 
cided that  his  vote  should  be  for  liberty  and  independ- 
ence. The  decision  made  possible  the  battle  of  Mara- 
thon, and  posterity  knows  the  result. 

Before  giving  an  account  of  this  memorable  engage- 
ment, it  will  be  profitable  to  seek  the  causes  that  cul- 
minated at  Marathon.  These  had  their  genesis,  not 
alone  in  the  importunities  of  Hippias,  and  other  exiled 
tyrants,  who  had  been  driven  from  Greece,  and  who 
sought  to  persuade  Darius  to  invade  Hellas,  but  in  the 
military  operations  instituted  by  the  Persians  in  their 
efforts  to  extend  their  empire  to  the  eastern  shores  of 
the  ^gean  Sea,  and  in  the  struggles  of  the  Greek  cities 
of  Asia  Minor  to  throw  off  the  Persian  yoke.  For 
more  than  fifty  years  the  Persians  had  threatened  to 
visit  condign  punishment  upon  Hellas.  These  hostile 
declarations  were  encouraged  from  time  to  time  by 
tyrants  and  leaders  of  the  oligarchical  party  in  Greece, 
who  had  been  driven  out  of  their  native  country  by 
revolutions,  having  for  their  object  the  establishment  of 
a  democracy.  These  exiles  frequently  took  refuge  in 
the  Persian  court,  where  they  were  usually  made  wel- 
come in  consideration  of  the  information  they  gave 
and  the  aid  which  they  tendered  in  order  to  assist  any 
expedition  which  the  Persian  monarch  might  see  fit  to 


It 


h 


2o8 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


DAElUS   HYSTASPES 


^ 


send  across  the  JEgean  to  subjugate  their  native  coun- 
try. 

The  conquests  of  Cyrus  the  Great  in  Asia  prevented 
temporarily  any  attempt  on  his  part  to  extend  his  con- 
quests in  the  West.  In  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century 
B.  C,  about  fifty-six  years  before  the  battle  of  Mara- 
thon, Cyrus  defeated  Croesus,  King  of  Lydia,  took  Sar- 
dis,  his  ancient  capital,  and  extended  his  empire  to  the 
-^gean  sea.  Then  turning  to  the  east  he  defeated  Bel- 
shazzar  and  took  Babylon.  Before  setting  out  on  his 
campaign  against  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  em- 
pire, he  planned  the  subjugation  of  the  Ionic  and 
^olian  Greeks,  who  had  been  allies  of  Croesus,  but  was 
obliged  to  entrust  to  others  the  conduct  of  these  opera- 
tions. Tabalus,  and  afterwards  Harpagus,  undertook 
the  execution  of  these  designs,  while  Cyrus  was  engaged 
in  his  operations  against  Babylon.  The  Asiatic  Greeks 
turned  in  this  hour  of  peril  to  their  Peloponnesian  kins- 
men, and  appealed  to  Sparta  for  succor.  The  Lace- 
daemonians, however,  did  not  send  military  aid,  but  dis- 
patched envoys  to  investigate.  On  arriving  at  Miletus, 
these  envoys  sent  a  herald  to  Cyrus,  who  was  still  at 
Sardis,  to  admonish  that  proud  monarch  not  to  attempt 
to  reduce  any  city  of  Hellas,  for  the  Lacedaemonians 
forbade,  and  would  not  permit  it.  This  impudence 
seemed  refreshing  to  Cyrus.  His  interest  was  aroused. 
He  asked,  "  Who  are  these  Lacedaemonians  ?  "  When 
informed  that  they  dwelt  in  the  Peloponnesus,  in  a  city 
called  Sparta,  a  market  town,  he  expressed  contempt 
and  declared  according  to  Herodotus  (i,  163),  "  I  have 
never  yet  been  afraid  of  men  like  these,  who  have  in  the 
midst  of  their  city,  a  place  set  apart,  where  they  meet 
to  cheat  one  another  by  false  oaths.  If  I  live,  they 
will  be  obliged  to  discuss,  not  the  calamities  of  the 
lonians,  but  their  own." 

Cyrus  did  not  live  to  fulfil  his  threat  against  Hellas. 
Soon  after  his  imprecations  against  the  Lacedaemonians, 


he  quitted  Sardis,  in  order  to  prosecute  his  campaigns, 
and  extend  his  dominions  in  upper  Asia.  He  conquered 
Assyria,  and  took  the  cities  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon. 
Belshazzar  was  slain  in  his  palace  B.  C.  538.  Babylon 
became  a  satrapy  of  Persia.  Cyrus  then  reduced  the 
countries  inhabited  by  the  Bactrians  and  the  Sacae,  and 
was  killed  in  a  campaign  against  the  Massagetae  in  the 
remote  regions  on  the  confines  of  his  dominions,  not 
far  from  the  western  boundary  of  Chinese  Tartary 
B.  C.  529.  Cyrus  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Cambyses. 
He  had  no  opportunity  to  punish  the  Hellenes  as  his 
time  was  largely  occupied  in  the  conquest  of  Egypt. 
On  the  death  of  Cambyses,  B.  C.  622,  Darius  Hys- 
taspes,  after  the  assassination  of  the  usurper  Smerdis, 
succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Persia. 

After  Darius  had  restored  order  in  his  dominions,  his 
queen,  Atossa,  daughter  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  besought 
her  husband,  while  yet  in  the  flower  of  his  age  to  per- 
form some  illustrious  action,  which  should  shed  lustre 
on  his  reign.  He  then  determined  to  lead  an  expedition 
into  Europe  to  subdue  the  Scythians.  Had  Darius  fol- 
lowed the  importunities  of  his  queen,  and  lead  his  army 
into  Greece  instead  of  into  the  country  beyond  the 
Danube,  the  battle  of  Marathon  might  have  been  an- 
ticipated nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  cam- 
paign would  have  been  conducted  by  Darius  in  person. 
The  time  was  opportune.  Hipparchus  had  been  assas- 
sinated (B.  C.  614),  and  his  brother  Hippias  was  fight- 
ing desperately  to  sustain  his  supremacy  in  Athens, 
and  when  Darius  started  on  his  Scythian  expedition, 
he  had  not  yet  been  driven  into  exile.  The  factions 
who  were  seeking  to  overthrow  Hippias  were  aided  by 
Cleomenes  with  a  contingent  of  Spartan  soldiers.  Hip- 
pias, who  was  in  constant  fear  of  assassination,  had  a 
band  of  Thracians  constantly  in  his  pay  to  protect 
himself  from  the  attacks  which  he  contemplated  would 
be  made  upon  him. 


f 


■i 


^ 


1. 1 


2IO 


MIUTABY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


But  Darius  remained  indifferent  and  failed  to  take 
advantage  of  the  opportunity  offered  by  the  dissensions 
and  quarrels  which  divided  and  distracted  Attica.     He 
failed  to  act  on  the  advice  of  Atossa,  his  queen,  and  Jet 
pass  the  opportunity  to  invade  Greece.     Instead  he  led 
an  expedition  seven  hundred  thousand  strong  into  Eu- 
rope  (B.C.   513-12)    and  invaded   Scythia.     Perhaps 
he  resolved  to  postpone  the  contemplated  invasion  of 
Greece  because  he  desired  the  aid  of  his  Greek  subjects 
in   Asia   Minor  on   his    Scythian   expedition,   deeming 
their  cooperation  indispensable,  by  reason  of  the  fact 
that  they  were  the  most  expert  and  experienced  mar- 
iners in  his  dominions,  and  part  of  the  equipment,  on 
that  occasion,  consisted  of  a  fleet  of  six  hundred  sail. 
An  interesting  fact  in  connection  with  this  expedition 
was  the  presence  of  Miltiades,  who  was  with  the  Asiatic 
Greeks,  whom  Darius  had  ordered  to  accompany  him. 
On  the  Scythian  expedition,^  Miltiades,  who  ruled  the 
city  of  Cardia  and  the  Thracian  Chersonese,  used  all 
his  endeavors  to  induce  his  fellow  countrymen  to  des- 
troy the  bridge  of  boats  over  the  Danube,  which  they 
were  left  to  guard,  after  Darius  had  led  his  army  into 
the  unexplored  regions  north  of  that  river,  and  north 
of  the  Euxine,  and  urged  them  to  permit  his  sovereign 
to  perish  among  the  savage  nomads  of  Scythia.     His 
advice  was  not  followed.     Darius  lived  to  send  Datis 
and  his  brother  Artaphemes  to  seek  to  enslave  Greece ; 
and  Miltiades  lived  to  defeat  them  at  Marathon. 

After  the  return  of  Darius  from  the  Danube  he  suf- 
fered additional  insults  from  the  Athenians  and  Ere- 
trians,  who  aided  their  kinsmen  in  Ionia,  in  Asia  Minor 
to  sack  and  bum  the  city  of  Sardis  (B.  C.  500).  This 
uprising,  known  as  the  Ionian  revolt,  resulted  in  the 
Ionian  War,  in  which  the  Greek  subjects   of  Darius 


XI. 


*For  an  account  of  the  Scythian  Expedition,  see  ante,  Chap, 


DISASTER    OFF   MOUNT   ATHOS 


211 


fought  to  regain  their  independence,  and  the  political 
liberty  they  had  enjoyed  when  Croesus  was  King  of 
Lydia.  This  struggle  lasted  six  years,  the  conspicuous 
events  being  the  battle  of  Lade,  and  the  siege  and  fall 
of  Miletus  (B.  C.  495)  and  the  subjugation  of  the 
islands,  Chios,  Lesbos  and  Tenedos. 

Having  subjugated  the  Greeks  in  Asia,  Darius  de- 
termined to  subjugate  the  Greeks  in  Europe.     He  ap- 
pointed   his    son-in-law    Mardonius    to    succeed    Arta- 
phemes in  the  government  of  the  Persian  provinces  on 
the  eastern  shores  of  the  ^gean.     He  placed  him  at 
the  head  of  a  strong  infantry  force,  with  which  he  was 
ordered  to  march  through  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  and 
make  a  junction  with  Megabazus,  whom  Darius  had 
left  in  Thrace  with  an  army  of  80,000  men,  on  his  re- 
turn from  the  Scythian  expedition,  with  orders  to  pro- 
ceed through  Thrace  and  Macedonia  to   Therma,  at 
the  head  of  the  Thermaic  Gulf,  and  there  await  the 
arrival  of  the  fleet,  on  which  a  large  body  of  infantry 
was  being  transported.     From  this  rendezvous  the  en- 
tire armament,  under  command  of  Mardonius,  was  to 
invade    Greece,    march    south    through    Thessaly    and 
Beotia  to  Attica ;    reduce  and  burn  Athens,  and  bring 
to  the  court  of  Darius  at  Susa,  the  insolent  Athenians 
and  Eretrians,  who  had  burned  the  city  of  Sardis.    The 
fleet  was   obliged  to  double  the  rocky  promontory  of 
Mount  Athos,  at  the  extremity  of  the  Chalcidean  pen- 
insula of  Acte,  on  its  way  to  Therma.     The  fleet,  un- 
fortunately for  Mardonius,  ran  into  the  teeth  of  a  hur- 
ricane off  the  dangerous  promontory  of  Mount  Athos. 
Three  hundred  ships  were  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks, 
and  20,000  men  perished  (B.  C.  492).     This  calamity 
caused  the  abandonment  of  the  expedition. 

The  disappointment  and  mortification  of  Darius, 
however,  did  not  dampen  his  ardor,  nor  modify  his 
anger  against  the  Athenians.  Hippias  was  at  his  court 
urging  him  to  lose  no  time  in  fitting  out  a  new  arma- 


212 


MILITARY   AKNALS    OF    GREECE 


f; 


ment.     He  was  willing  and  anxious  to  pilot  the  expe- 
dition.    He  advised  that  the  fleet  sail  directly  across 
the  ^gean,  among  the  Cjclades,  touching  at  the  island 
of  Delos,  and  at  Euboea,  in  order  to  burn  the  city  of 
Eretria,  and  then   disembark   the  land  forces   on   the 
plain  of  Marathon,  some  twenty  miles  from  Eretria,  and 
about  twenty-five  miles  northeast  of  Athens.     At  that 
point,  the  idea  was  to  cooperate  with  the  supporters  of 
Hippias,  who  still  had  a  considerable  following  in  his 
native  city.     Heralds  were  sent  out,  in  advance  of  this 
new  expedition,  to  demand  from  the  cities  of  Greece, 
earth  and  water,   as   an   acknowledgment   of  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Darius.     These  cities,  with  the  exception 
of  Athens  and  Sparta,  believing  themselves  too  weak 
to  withstand  the  power  of  Persia,  complied  with  the 
demands  of  the  heralds.     The  Athenians  and  Spartans, 
however,  treated  them,  not  only  with  disdain,  but  defied 
Darius.    To  show  their  utter  contempt  for  his  demands 
they  slew  his  heralds.     The  Athenians  cast  the  Persian 
ambassadors   into   a   deep   pit.      The   Spartans   threw 
them  into  a  well  and  in  derision  bade  them,  in  their  sad 
plight,  take  earth  and  water  to  their  master. 

Darius  now  determined  to  retrieve  the  disaster  which 
overtook  his  first  expedition  under  Mardonius,  espe- 
cially in  view  of  the  fact  that  all  the  Greek  cities  to 
whom  he  sent  his  heralds,  except  only  Athens  and 
Sparta,  had  acknowledged  his  sovereignty.  He  took 
the  command  of  the  army  from  Mardonius,  who  had 
failed  in  his  campaign  the  year  previous,  and  appointed 
Datis,  by  birth  a  Mede,  and  his  nephew  Artaphernes, 
son  of  his  half-brother  Artaphernes,  Satrap  of  Lydia, 
to  command  the  Persians.  The  place  of  rendezvous 
was  the  Aleian  plain,  in  Cilicia,  which  stretches  south 
to  the  Mediterannean,  between  the  rivers  Pyramus  and 
Cydnus.  On  the  banks  of  the  latter  is  situate  the  flour- 
ishing city  of  Tarsus.  Here  the  entire  land  and  naval 
forces  assembled.     The  infantry  were  embarked  in  six 


ARMAMENT   OF   DATIS  213 

hundred  triremes.  There  were  four  hundred  transports 
in  which  the  cavalry  were  transported.  Estimates  vary 
as  to  the  numerical  strength  of  the  army  of  Datis. 
There  is  reliable  authority  which  would  indicate  that  it 
numbered  not  less  than  two  hundred  thousand  infantry, 
and  ten  thousand  cavalry.  Col.  Leake  estimates  that 
at  Marathon  the  armament  of  Datis  numbered  177,000, 
including  7,000  cavalry.  He  points  out  that  the  an- 
cient penteconter  contained  but  a  single  bank  of  oars, 
and  was  rowed  by  50  men.  The  trireme  contained  three 
banks  of  oars,  and  was  propelled  by  150  rowers,  and 
accommodated  also  50  combatants.  The  small  ships 
were  each  equipped  with  30  oars.  The  rowers  fought 
on  shore  as  archers.    His  estimate  is  as  follows :  ^ 

Infantry,  50  in  each  of  the  600  triremes 30,000 

Cavalry    (in  300  cavalry  transports) 7,000 

Rowers  of  the  600  triremes,  who  fought  on  shore  as 

archers    90,000 

Seamen  of  the  triremes 30,000 

Seamen  of  the  cavalry  transports 20,000 

Total  armament 177,000 

Datis  was  an  experienced  officer  who  had  served 
against  the  Greeks  in  the  Ionian  War  in  Asia  Minor, 
and  Artaphernes,  who  accompanied  him,  was  a  prince 
of  the  royal  family.  The  order  given  by  Darius  to  his 
commanders  when  they  set  out  on  their  campaign  was 
brief.  They  were  directed  to  proceed  to  Athens  and 
Eretria,  reduce  them  to  ashes,  and  bring  the  inhabitants 
into  the  King's  presence  at  Susa  in  chains.  Datis  was 
doubtless  aware  that  failure  to  comply  with  the  order 
according  to  oriental  custom  would  cost  him  his  head. 

History  does  not  record  what  exquisite  tortures  were 
designed  for  the  Athenians  and  Eretrians  by  Darius 
and  his  queen  Atossa,  when  these  prisoners  should  be 
brought  before  him.     But  in  view  of  the  disastrous 

*  Leake's  Demi  of  Attica,  Vol.  2,  p.  220. 


214 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


DESTRUCTION   OP   ERETRIA 


215 


failure  of  the  expedition  and  its  humiliating  defeat  at 
Marathon,  we  may  well  conceive  the  extreme  chagrin 
and  mortification  which  Darius  must  have  experienced 
and  his  keen  disappointment  at  being  unable  to  punish 
the  Athenians  who  had  insulted  his  dignity  and  mocked 
his  authority;  who  had  burned  Sardis,  and  murdered 
in  cold  blood  his  heralds  and  ambassadors.  Datis, 
however,  after  his  defeat,  was  able  to  take  in  his  fleet 
his  Eretrian  prisoners  whose  city  he  took,  by  reason 
of  the  traitors  within  its  walls.  But  we  are  told  that 
Darius,  when  the  Eretrians  were  brought  to  him  at 
Susa,  instead  of  putting  them  to  the  torture,  treated 
them  with  great  kindness,  and  directed  them  to  settle  on 
lands  which  he  assigned  to  them,  and  decreed  that  they 
should  dwell  in  Asia  as  his  subjects. 

The  armament  sailed  from  the  coast  of  Cilicia,  prob- 
ably from  Tarsus,  in  the  spring  or  summer  B.  C.  490, 
pursued  its  course  west  and  thence  north  along  the 
coast  of  Asia  Minor  to  Ionia  and  the  island  of  Samos. 
Fearing  a  fate  similar  to  that  which  had  recently  be- 
fallen the  expedition  of  Mardonius  off  the  promontory 
of  Mount  Athos,  Datis  sailed  west,  through  the  Cy- 
clades,  and  touched  first  at  the  island  of  Naxos.  The 
inhabitants  fled  to  the  mountains,  but  many  were  made 
prisoners  and  their  port  town  was  reduced  to  ashes. 

But  Datis  respected  the  sacred  island  of  Delos  and 
would  not  permit  it  to  be  plundered.  Instead  he  sent 
a  herald  to  the  Delians  who  had  fled  to  Tenos.  The 
herald  declared  that  no  harm  was  intended  to  their 
sacred  island  and  its  inhabitants,  because  that  island 
was  the  birthplace  of  two  deities,  Apollo  and  Artemis 
(Diana),  and  Darius  had  ordered  that  their  sacred  pre- 
cincts should  be  respected.  He  bade  them,  therefore, 
return  to  their  homes  where  they  might  abide  in  peace. 
In  memory  of  this  deliverance,  the  Delians  burned  three 
hundred  talents  of  frankincense  upon  the  altar  of 
Apollo. 


Datis  then  directed  his  course  to  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  island  of  Euboea,  and  attacked  the  city 
of  Carystus,  the  latter  having  refused  to  give  hostages 
to  the  Persians ;  nor  would  they  consent  to  join  the  in- 
vaders and  aid  them  in  their  assault  on  Eretria  and 
Athens.  The  Persians  finally  reduced  Carystus  and 
burnt  and  ravaged  the  neighboring  country. 

From  Carystus  Datis  sailed  north  through  the  Eu- 
boean  channel,  and  attacked  the  city  of  Eretria.  For 
six  days  the  Eretrians  fought  to  maintain  their  free- 
dom, Hut  tlie  love  of  Persian  gold  induced  some  prom- 
inent men  in  the  city  to  betray  it.  These  traitors, 
prototypes  of  the  Benedict  Arnold  of  American  his- 
tory, opened  the  gates  of  Eretria  to  the  enemy  on  the 
seventh  day  of  the  siege.  The  Persians  having  gained 
an  entrance  into  the  city  pillaged  it,  set  fire  to  the 
temples,  and  reduced  the  city  to  ashes,  as  the  Eretrians 
and  Athenians  had  burned  Sardis,  ten  years  before. 

Part  of  the  mission  of  Datis  had  now  been  accom- 
plished. Eretria  was  in  ashes,  and  its  inhabitants  were 
in  chains.  His  energies  were  now  centred  on  the  de- 
struction of  Athens.  Hippias  was  enthusiastic.  He 
longed  to  punish  his  political  enemies  who  had  driven 
him  into  exile  and  to  reward  his  friends  and  supporters. 
Datis,  after  a  brief  rest,  sailed  south  to  Marathon,  on 
the  northeast  coast  of  Attica,  it  being  not  more  than 
twenty  miles  from  Eretria,  and  near  also  to  Athens,  the 
plain  being  best  adapted  for  the  movements  of  his  cav- 
alry.    Thither  he  was  conducted  by  Hippias. 

The  Athenians,  in  anticipation  of  the  approaching 
struggle  with  the  Persians,  had  elected  in  the  spring 
B.  C.  490  their  ablest  men  as  strategi.  Under  the  con- 
stitution of  Clisthenes  it  was  customary  to  elect  ten 
generals  or  strategi  annually,  one  from  each  of  the  ten 
tribes.  The  supreme  command  of  the  army  was  given 
to  each  of  the  ten  generals  on  alternate  days.  Nine 
archons  were  also  chosen  annually.     The  third  archon, 


i 


2t6 


MILITARY   ANNALS   OP   OBEECE 


DATE    OF    THE    BATTLE 


217 


known  as  the  Archon  polemarch,  or  war  Archon,  was 
the  military  governor  of  Attica.  He  had  the  right  to 
vote  in  the  counsels  of  the  strategi,  and  the  law  also 
conferred  on  him  the  honor  to  command  the  right  wing 
in  battle.  The  name  of  this  war  Archon  was  Calli- 
machus,  of  the  tribe  of  yEantis.  We  have  also  the 
names  of  four  of  the  strategi  elected  that  year,  namely, 
Miltiades,  Aristides,  Themistocles  and  Stesilaus. 

As  soon  as  the  news  reached  Athens  that  Eretria  had 
fallen,  the  Athenian  army  about  ten  thousand  strong, 
prepared  to  take  the  field.  Just  before  the  troops  set 
out  for  Marathon,  the  strategi  sent  a  herald  to  Sparta, 
to  ask  aid  of  the  Lacedaemonians  to  assist  in  repelling 
the  Persian  invaders.  A  professional  courier  and 
trained  runner,  named  Phidippides,  was  selected  to 
carry  the  message.  He  set  out  at  once  from  Athens, 
on  September  7,  B.  C.  490,  and  arrived  in  Sparta,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant,  on  the  evening  of  the 
following  day.  He  was  brought  before  the  Ephors  at 
once,  and  delivered  this  brief  message: 

"  The  Athenians  entreat  the  Lacedaemonians  to  aid 
them,  and  not  suffer  the  oldest  city  in  Greece  to  be 
reduced  to  bondage  by  the  barbarians.  Eretria  has 
already  fallen,  its  inhabitants  are  now  slaves,  and 
Greece  has  become  weaker  by  the  loss  of  a  renowned 
city." 

The  Ephors  declared  that  they  would  lend  their  aid 
to  the  Athenians,  but  they  could  not  advance  with  their 
armies  in  violation  of  law,  because  it  was  the  ninth  day 
of  the  current  month,  and  the  moon's  circle  was  not 
yet  full,  but  that  they  would  advance  immediately  after 
the  full  moon. 

Later,  when  Xerxes  was  prosecuting  his  march 
through  Thessaly,  the  Spartans,  who  were  then  cele- 
brating the  Cameian  festival,  delayed  sending  the  full 
strength  of  their  anny  to  support  Leonidas  at  Ther- 
mopylae, until  the  festival  had  been  concluded.     The 


other  allies  did  likewise,  it  would  seem,  on  account  of 
the  Olympic  games,  Herodotus  declares,  which  occurred 
at  the  same  period  as  these  events.  The  Olympic  fes- 
tival was  celebrated  at  the  time  of  the  first  full  moon 
after  the  summer  solstice,  which  would  occur  late  in 
June  or  early  in  July.  It  was  earlier,  therefore,  than 
the  Cameian  festival,  which  took  place  in  the  Spartan 
month  Carneius,  which  corresponds  nearly  with  our 
month  of  August.  The  Dorians  held  sacred  the  entire 
month  Carneius  (Thuc.  v,  54)  during  which  they  cele- 
brated their  national  festival  in  honor  of  Apollo  Car- 
neius. The  contests  commenced  on  the  seventh  day  of 
the  month  and  continued  for  nine  days.  One  of  the 
important  ceremonies  consisted  in  crowning  the  Car- 
neian  Apollo  with  garlands  in  commemoration  of  the 
passage  of  the  Dorians,  and  Achaeans  from  Naupactus 
to  the  Peloponnesus. 

The  Lacedaemonians  also  kept  the  ancient  Achaean 
feast  of  Hyacinthia,  which  occurred  annually  after  the 
middle  of  June.  This  festival  would  precede  the  period 
for  the  celebration  of  the  Olympic  games,  which,  how- 
ever, were  celebrated  only  quintennially.  Hyacinthus 
was  a  beautiful  youth  slain  accidentally  by  Apollo, 
and  took  his  name  from  the  flower  which  was  after- 
wards revered  as  an  emblem  of  his  death. 

The  Dorian  superstitions,  therefore,  on  this  occasion 
proved  stronger  than  their  love  of  country  and  patri- 
otic devotion,  for  they  waited  till  the  moon  was  full, 
and  left  Sparta  on  the  16th  of  the  month  with  an  army 
of  two  thousand  hoplitcs  and  reached  the  field  of  Mara- 
thon, the  day  after  the  battle.  Thus  according  to  Col. 
Leake,  whose  views  are  adopted  by  Canon  Rawlinson, 
the  battle  of  Marathon  was  fought  on  the  17th  day  of 
the  Spartan  month  which  corresponds  with  our  Sep- 
tember. He  estimates  that  Phidippides  set  out  for 
Sparta  on  September  7,  the  day  the  Athenians  marched 
to  Marathon,  and  arrived  at  his  destination  on  the  eve- 


I 


2l8 


MIUTARY   AKNAX8    OF    OKEECE 


PLAIN   OF   MAEATHON 


219 


ning  of  the  8th,  seven  days  before  the  full  moon  which 
occurred  on  the  15th.  The  day  following,  the  16th, 
the  Spartans  set  out  on  their  march  and  arrived  at 
Marathon  on  the  third  day  thereafter,  namely,  on  the 
18th,  in  time  to  view  the  Persian  dead,  who  still  lay 
unburied  on  the  plain,  but  too  late  to  participate  in  the 
dgagement  which  occurred  the  day  previous.  Thus  it 
appears  that  the  battle  was  fought  ten  days  after  the 
courier  Phidippides  started  from  Athens  with  his  mes- 
sage for  aid.  It  appears  further  that  the  Spartans 
were  not  delayed  in  consequence  of  the  celebration  of 
any  religious  festival,  as  we  have  shown  that  those 
which  they  were  accustomed  to  celebrate  occurred  in 
June,  July  and  August.  They  postponed  their  march 
to  Marathon  by  reason  of  a  peculiar  superstition  with 
regard  to  the  phases  of  the  moon. 

If  Phidippides  left  Athens  for  Sparta  the  same  day 
that  the  Athenians  marched  to  Marathon,  the  Greeks 
must  have  arrived  on  the  field  on  September  7th.  Prob- 
ably the  Persians  had  already  disembarked  with  their 
infantry  and  cavalry,  and  were  encamped  on  the  plain, 
when  the  Athenians  arrived.  It  will  appear,  there- 
fore, if  the  battle  was  fought  on  the  17th,  that  the 
two  armies  lay  facing  each  other  for  ten  days  before 
the  attack  was  made  by  the  Greeks.  If  Miltiades  waited 
ten  days  before  giving  battle,  why  did  he  not  wait  an- 
other day  to  give  the  Spartans  an  opportunity  to  reach 
the  field  and  reinforce  his  slender  army.?  He  knew  from 
the  report  received  from  Phidippides  that  as  soon  as  the 
moon  was  full-orbed  the  Spartans  would  come  to  his 
aid.  He  knew,  or  should  have  known,  that  the  day  on 
which  he  ordered  the  attack,  the  Spartans  were  on  the 
road  to  Marathon,  and  were  only  distant  a  day's  march. 
These  facts  concerning  this  interesting  engagement  will 
be  considered  presently.  Herodotus  does  not  supply 
information  on  the  points  above  suggested,  but  he 
gives  a  graphic  sketch  of  the  engagement  and  has  pre- 


served the  argument  that  Miltiades  made  to  Calli- 
machus,  the  war  Archon,  to  gain  his  vote,  because,  had 
the  archon  voted  against  the  proposition  of  Miltiades, 
the  battle  of  Marathon  could  not  have  taken  place. 

Mr.  Finlay  describes  the  plain  of  Marathon  as  ex- 
tending in  a  perfect  level  along  the  bay  of  Marathon. 
It  is  in  length  about  six  miles;  its  breadth  never  less 
than  a  mile  and  a  half.  Two  marshes  bound  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  plain,  the  southern  is  not  very  large, 
and  is  almost  dry  at  the  conclusion  of  the  great  heats ; 
but  the  northern,  which  generally  covers  considerably 
more  than  a  square  mile,  offers  several  parts  which  are 
at  all  seasons  impassable.  Both,  however,  leave  a  broad, 
firm,  sandy  beach  between  them  and  the  sea.  The  un- 
interrupted flatness  of  the  plain  is  hardly  relieved  by  a 
single  tree,  and  an  amphitheatre  of  rocky  hills  and 
rugged  mountains  separates  it  from  the  rest  of  Attica, 
over  the  lower  ridges  of  which  some  steep  and  difficult 
paths  communicate  with  the  districts  of  the  interior. 

When  the  Athenians  reached  Marathon,  they  drew 
up  in  order  of  battle,  in  a  place  sacred  to  Hercules, 
and  while  awaiting  orders  from  their  generals,  they 
were  joined  by  the  Plataeans,  who,  when  they  learned 
that  Eretria  had  fallen,  and  that  Athens  was  threat- 
ened, sent  every  available  man  in  the  city  to  aid  their 
good  friends  and  allies  the  Athenians,  who  had  on  sev- 
eral occasions  protected  them  from  unfair  treatment 
which  they  had  experienced  from  the  Boeotians.  It  is 
said  that  the  full  strength  of  the  Plataeans  was  one 
thousand  men.  The  Athenians  never  forgot  this  act 
of  devotion  on  the  part  of  Plataea,  and  always  in  the 
religious  exercise,  at  the  Panathenseaic  festival  bless- 
ings were  asked  for  the  Plataeans  also. 

The  Greeks  were  posted  in  the  timber  or  wooded 
ridges,  on  the  high  ground  which  rises  back  of  the 
plain.  From  their  position  they  could  see  every  move- 
ment of  the  enemy,  scarcely  a  mile  distant,  and  could 


I] 


220 


militaey  annals  op  geeece 


APPEAL   TO    CALLIMACHUS 


221 


observe  the  ships  moored  along  the  beach.  Miltlades 
had  fought  the  Persians  in  Asia  Minor.  When  the 
Asiatic  Greeks  were  struggling  to  regain  their  inde- 
pendence in  the  Ionian  War,  he  conquered  Lemnos  and 
Imbros.  Afterwards,  while  he  was  sailing  from  the 
Chersonese  with  five  triremes,  he  was  pursued  by  the 
Phoenicians,  allies  of  Darius,  but  escaped  to  Imbros 
with  four  of  his  ships,  and  sailed  thence  in  safety  to 
Athens.  He  was  familiar  also  with  the  tactics  of  the 
Persians,  and  doubtless  knew  Darius  personally,  as  he 
was  one  of  the  governors  who  accompanied  his  Scythian 
expedition,  and  counselled  the  other  rulers  of  the  Greek 
cities  in  Asia  Minor,  who  also  accompanied  the  expe- 
dition, and  were  detailed  to  guard  the  bridge  over  the 
Danube  (Ister),  to  return  to  their  homes  and  leave 
Darius  to  perish  in  the  wilds  of  Scythia. 

Miltiades  was  of  the  tribe  of  (Eneis.  He  was  a  man 
of  ripe  experience,  of  great  courage,  and  unusual  en- 
ergy. He  comprehended  the  situation,  and  believed 
that  he  would  be  able  to  defeat  the  army  of  Datis,  al- 
though it  outnumbered  the  Greeks  more  than  ten  to 
one.  An  attack,  under  the  circumstances,  would,  or- 
dinarily, be  considered  as  suicidal.  How  could  ten  or 
eleven  thousand  Greeks  expect  to  defeat  and  rout  an 
army  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand? 
Miltiades  canvassed  the  situation  with  the  other  gen- 
erals as  to  the  expediency  of  an  attack.  A  vote  having 
been  taken  on  the  question,  the  result  stood  five  to  five. 
It  was  necessary,  therefore,  for  Miltiades,  in  order  to 
fight  Datis  at  Marathon,  to  win  over  to  his  view,  Calli- 
machus,  of  the  tribe  of  Mantis,  who  had  the  casting 
vote.  Herodotus  has  preserved  the  patriotic  and  stir- 
ring appeal  which  Miltiades  made  to  the  Archon. 

"It  now  depends  on  you,  Callimachus,"  said  Milti- 
ades, "  either  to  enslave  Athens,  or,  by  preserving  its 
liberty,  to  leave  a  memorial  of  yourself  to  every  age, 
such  as  not  even  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton  have  left. 


For  the  Athenians  were  never  in  so  great  danger  from 
the  time  they  were  first  a  people.  And  if  they  succumb 
to  the  Medes,  it  has  been  determined  what  they  are  to 
suffer  when  delivered  up  to  Hippias,  but  if  the  city  sur- 
vives, it  will  become  the  first  of  the  Grecian  cities. 
How,  then,  this  can  be  brought  to  pass,  and  how  the 
power  of  deciding  this  matter  depends  on  you,  I  will 
now  proceed  to  explain.  The  opinions  of  us  generals, 
who  are  ten,  are  divided:  the  one  party  urging  that  we 
should  engage;  the  other,  that  we  should  not  engage. 
Now  if  we  do  not  engage,  I  expect  that  some  great  dis- 
sension arising  amongst  us  will  shake  the  minds  of  the 
Athenians,  so  as  to  induce  them  to  a  compliance  with 
the  Medes.  But  if  we  engage  before  any  dastardly 
thought  arises  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  Athenians, 
if  the  gods  are  impartial,  we  shall  be  able  to  get  the 
better  in  the  engagement.  All  these  things,  therefore, 
are  now  in  your  power,  and  entirely  depend  on  you. 
For  if  you  will  support  my  opinion,  your  country  will 
be  free,  and  the  city,  the  first  in  Greece ;  but  if  you  join 
with  those  who  would  dissuade  us  from  an  engagement, 
the  contrary  of  the  advantages  I  have  enumerated  will 
fall  to  your  lot." 

This  appeal  won  the  vote  of  Callimachus,  who  be- 
came his  enthusiastic  supporter.  When  the  majority 
had  agreed  to  give  battle,  the  generals  surrendered 
to  Miltiades  their  right  to  command  on  the  days  when 
they  would  be  entitled  to  that  right  respectively,  so  that 
he  might  manage  the  contest  without  the  embarrass- 
ment which  his  temporary  loss  of  command  might  occa- 
sion. It  was  practically  left  to  Miltiades  to  select  the 
day  when  he  should  attack.  Doubtless  Miltiades  did 
everything  to  conceal  his  intentions  from  the  enemy. 
He  wished  to  have  them  believe  that  the  Greeks  intended 
to  remain  on  the  defensive.  Datis  concluded,  perhaps, 
that  the  Greeks  were  content  to  guard  the  mountain 
passes  through  which  the  roads  communicating  with 


222 


MIUTABY   ANKALS    OF    GREECE 


m 


Athens  extended.  The  latter  cut  down  a  number  of 
trees  from  the  wooded  ridges,  and  piled  them  so  as  to 
form  an  abattis,  to  protect  their  left  flank  from  the 
Persian  cavalry.  With  this  exception,  the  armies  re- 
mained inactive  a  little  more  than  a  mile  apart  facing 
each  other.  This  inactivity  continued  for  nine 
days. 

Suddenly  on  the  tenth  day  after  the  Greeks  arrived 
on  the  battle-field,  namely,  on  the  17th  day  of  Septem- 
ber, Miltiades  drew  up  his  army  in  line  of  battle.  The 
extent  or  length  of  their  line  was  equal  to  that  of  the 
Medes ;  the  wings  of  the  Greek  army  were  strongest,  but 
the  centre  was  weak,  being  only  a  few  files  deep.  It  was 
commanded  by  Aristides  and  Themistocles  at  the  head 
of  their  respective  tribes  of  Antiochis  and  Leontis. 
Callimachus  was  in  command  of  the  right  wing,  the 
Plataeans  were  posted  on  the  left. 

The  Persians  were  on  the  plain  between  the  Athenians 
and  the  sea.  As  has  been  observed  two  marshes 
bounded  its  extremities  which  protected  their  flanks. 
When  the  command  was  given  by  Miltiades  to  charge, 
the  space  between  the  two  armies  was  about  a  mile ;  not 
less  than  eight  stades,  Herodotus  says.  A  stade  is 
equal  to  600  feet.  Before  the  astonished  Medes  had 
time  to  put  themselves  in  a  proper  posture  to  defend 
themselves  against  this  sudden  onslaught,  Miltiades 
gave  the  command  to  his  entire  line  to  advance  at  a 
double-quick.  They  had  no  cavalry  and  no  archers, 
but  were  armed  with  pikes  or  long  spears  and  swords. 
The  astonished  Persians  could  scarcely  believe  their 
eyes  when  they  beheld  the  Greeks  precipitating  them- 
selves upon  them.  The  Persian  centre,  however,  ad- 
vanced with  spirit,  and  pierced  the  weak  centre  of  the 
Greeks,  and  pursued  them  to  the  interior,  but  the  vic- 
torious wings  of  the  Athenians  and  Plataeans  united, 
driving  the  enemy  in  flank,  and  fighting  those  who  had 
broken  the  centre.     They  followed  the  Persians  who 


ABSENCE    OF    CAVALRY 


223 


retreated  towards  the  shore,  cutting  them  to  pieces,  and 
then  called  for  fire  and  attacked  the  ships. 

The  battle  continued  for  "  a  long  time,"  Herodotus 
says,  but  Miltiades  finally  gained  a  decisive  victory. 
He  "  allowed  the  defeated  portion  of  the  barbarians  to 
flee,"  and  followed  them  in  their  flight  "  cutting  them 
to  pieces,  till,  reaching  the  shore,  they  called  for  fire 
and  attacked  the  ships."  The  entire  fleet  of  Datis, 
however,  escaped  with  their  Eretrian  prisoners,  except 
seven  ships,  which  were  destroyed  on  the  beach.  Among 
the  slain  was  Callimachus,  the  Archon  Polemarch,  who 
made  the  battle  possible  by  voting  with  Miltiades  to 
attack  the  enemy;  also  Stesilaus,  one  of  the  strategi, 
Cynaegirus  also,  a  brother  of  the  poet  ^schylus,  was 
killed  on  the  beach.  He  seized  a  Persian  vessel,  but  a 
sailor  on  board  cut  off  his  hand  with  an  axe,  and  was 
slain  in  the  encounter.  The  total  loss  of  the  Greeks 
was  192.     Of  the  Persians  sixty-four  hundred  perished. 

The  question  has  been  suggested  as  to  why  Miltiades 
waited  ten  days  without  attacking.  After  delaying  so 
long,  why  did  he  not  wait  till  the  Spartans  came  up? 
Why  did  he  wait  at  all,  after  he  gained  the  vote  of 
Callimachus?  The  only  answer  to  these  questions, 
which  I  have  been  able  to  find,  is  suggested  by  Col. 
Leake  in  his  comments  on  this  memorable  engagement. 
His  views  on  this  point  are  shared  also  by  Canon  Raw- 
linson.  He  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  plain  of 
Marathon  was  selected  by  Datis,  under  the  conduct 
of  Hippias,  because  it  was  the  spot  best  adapted  for 
cavalry.  He  observes  further  that  Herodotus  makes 
no  mention  of  any  cavalry  having  been  engaged,  and 
concludes  there  were  none  on  the  plain  of  Marathon 
the  day  the  battle  was  fought,  though  Datis  had  with 
him  perhaps  ten  thousand  horsemen.  Cavalry  was  the 
most  serious  obstacle  the  Greeks  had  to  contend  with. 
They  had  none  themselves,  nor  did  they  have  any 
archers  or  bowmen. 


n 


224 


MIUTABT  ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


II 


The  conclusion,  therefore,  seems  justified,  that  the 
Persian  cavalry  were  absent,  and  that  when  Miltiades 
learned  this,  he  immediately  took  advantage  of  the 
important  circumstance,  believing  that  in  the  absence 
of  the  cavalry  he  could  succeed  against  the  Persian  in- 
fantry. This  fact,  according  to  Suidas,  gave  rise  to 
the  Athenian  proverb  —  Xcopif;  Xirirek  —  "  the  horse- 
men are  away."  It  is  reported  also  that  some  of  the 
lonians,  in  the  army  of  Datis,  found  opportunity  to 
climb  trees,  and  signal  the  Athenians  that  the  cavalry 
were  absent. 

The  reasons  assigned  for  the  temporary  absence  of 
the  horse  is,  that  during  the  nine  or  ten  days  that  the 
cavalry  were  at  Marathon,  they  had  exhausted  the 
forage  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  in  the  belief  that 
the  Greeks  intended  to  remain  on  the  defensive,  the 
horses,  on  this  day,  had  been  sent  off  to  forage  for 
themselves  in  the  plain  of  Tricorythus,  or  the  valleys 
which  open  out  of  it.  Tlie  absence  of  cavalry  gave 
Miltiades  the  opportunity  he  most  desired.  It  would 
never  do  to  allow  it  to  pass,  because,  he  was  well  aware 
that  dissensions  existed  at  Athens,  fomented  by  the  ad- 
herents of  Hippias.  Had  not  traitors  opened  the  gates 
of  Eretria?  Miltiades  must  attack,  therefore,  when 
opportunity  offered,  even  if  he  was  obliged  to  do  so  in 
the  absence  of  the  reinforcements  then  on  their  way 
from  Sparta. 

One  of  the  legends  as  to  this  engagement  declares, 
that  the  Athenians  were  inspired  while  contending  with 
the  might  of  Persia,  fighting  against  overwhelming  odds, 
by  a  vision  which  revealed  to  their  eyes  Theseus,  the 
Attic  hero,  who  destroyed  the  fire-spitting  bull,  on  the 
plain  where  they  were  then  fighting.  The  Athenians 
erected  a  temple  to  his  memory,  in  the  Agora  near  the 
foot  of  the  Acropolis  in  Athens.  This  venerable  struc- 
ture has  been  preserved,  and  still  attracts  the  admira- 
tion of  mankind. 


THE    SHIELD    ON    PENTELICUS 


225 


The  fears  of  Miltiades  that  treachery  was  at  work 
in  Athens  were  now  fully  corroborated.  Having  driven 
the  invaders  into  the  sea,  and  into  their  ships,  the  Per- 
sian commanders  sailed  south,  away  from  Marathon, 
and  rounded  cape  Sunium,  at  the  extreme  end  of  the 
Attic  peninsula,  and  thence  north  into  the  Saronic  gulf, 
and  directed  their  course  for  the  port  of  Phalerum,  the 
old  port  town  of  Athens.  It  was  believed  that  the  Per- 
sians were  apprised  of  the  designs  of  the  traitors  in 
Athens  by  signals  directed  by  means  of  a  burnished 
shield  displayed  conspicuously  from  a  high  point  on 
Mount  Pentelicus  by  secret  spies  of  Hippias.  Milti- 
ades, immediately  at  the  close  of  the  engagement,  or- 
dered his  entire  army  to  march  with  all  speed  to  Athens, 
save  only  a  contingent  left  on  the  battle-field  under 
Aristides,  to  guard  the  rich  spoils  of  the  defeated  Per- 
sian army.  The  Greeks  believed  that  the  traitors  who 
displayed  the  shield  on  Mount  Pentelicus,  to  signal  the 
Persians,  intended  to  notify  Datis  to  land  his  army  at 
the  port  of  Phalerum,  but  a  short  distance  from  Athens, 
and  advance  upon  the  city  in  the  absence  of  the  Athe- 
nian army,  and  while  they  were  yet  at  Marathon,  with 
the  assurance  that  the  adherents  of  Hippias  would  re- 
ceive them  gladly,  and  cooperate  with  them  to  capture 
Athens.  Whether  these  fears  were,  or  were  not,  well 
founded  is  not  material.  They  were  believed  at  the 
time.  Miltiades,  with  his  faithful  followers,  who  had 
borne  the  brunt  of  battle  all  day,  were  still  fresh,  and 
made  the  march  of  twenty-four  or  twenty-five  miles, 
and  arrived  in  Athens  before  the  Persian  fleet  reached 
Phalerum.  Datis,  when  he  arrived  in  the  Saronic  gulf, 
meeting  no  encouragement  from  the  traitors,  who  sent 
their  signals  from  Mount  Pentelicus,  sailed  away,  and 
directed  his  prows  to  the  shores  of  Asia. 

The  rapid  advance  of  the  Greeks  at  Marathon,  who 
attacked  the  enemy  at  a  run,  has  been  frequently  criti- 
cized by  modern  writers.     It  has  been  said  in  this  con- 


226 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    6EEECE 


ARISTIDES    AT    MARATHON 


22^ 


nection  that  a  run  of  a  mile,  the  distance  between  the 
two  armies,  must  have  disordered  the  troops  and  un- 
fitted them  for  the  engagement  upon  the  supposition 
that  such  violent  exertion  would  cause  them  to  be  out  of 
breath,  and  place  them  at  a  disadvantage.  Some  as- 
cribe to  this  cause  the  confusion  in  the  Greek  centre. 
The  assumption  is  wholly  unwarranted.  The  centre 
gave  way  after  a  long  contest  not  because  the  troops 
of  Aristides  and  Themistocles  were  not  physically  fit 
to  fight,  by  reason  of  their  rapid  advance  with  the  rest 
of  the  army,  over  a  mile  of  ground,  but  because  the 
files  in  the  centre  were  few,  and  that  part  of  the  line 
much  weaker  than  the  wings.  The  fact  remains  also 
not  only  that  the  Greeks  fought  the  battle  out  and  were 
victorious,  but  from  the  further  fact  that  after  fight- 
ing all  day,  the  entire  Greek  army  except  only  the 
tribe  commanded  by  Aristides,  marched  from  the  field 
of  Marathon  back  to  Athens,  a  distance  of  twenty-five 
or  twenty-six  miles,  in  anticipation  of  an  attack  on  the 
city  by  Datis,  who  sailed  around  the  point  of  Sunium 
to  the  port  of  Phalerum,  in  the  Saronic  gulf,  where  it 
was  supposed  he  would  land  his  army  and  advance  upon 
Athens. 

This  march,  after  such  a  battle,  was  a  wonderful 
feat.  But  when  we  consider  the  kind  of  men  the  Hel- 
lenese  were,  we  can  readily  understand  it.  The  Greeks 
spent  a  large  part  of  their  time  in  celebrating  their 
local  and  national  games  and  festivals,  in  which  men 
and  boys  engaged  in  athletic  sports  and  contests,  con- 
tending for  prizes  in  feats  of  running,  leaping,  box- 
ing, wrestling,  hurling  the  quoit  and  the  javelin,  and 
managing  horses  in  their  splendid  chariot  races.  The 
Spartans  were  the  finest  trained  athletes  the  world  ever 
saw,  and  spent  all  their  time  in  training  for  war,  which 
in  those  days  was  a  struggle  of  athletes  fighting  for 
the  most  part  hand  to  hand  with  sword  and  spear. 
Their  couriers  were  trained  runners  able  to  traverse  one 


hundred  and  fifty  miles  with  ease,  as  did  Phidippides, 
who  carried  from  Athens  to  Sparta  tidings  of  the  fall 
of  Eretria  and  the  advance  of  the  Persians.  The  Hel- 
lenes were  continually  preparing  in  the  local  festivals 
for  their  national  festivals,  more  especially  for  the 
Olympic  games,  the  most  famous  athletic  contests  in 
the  ancient  world.  The  victor  at  these  national  fes- 
tivals was  honored  even  more  than  the  statesmen,  art- 
ists and  philosophers,  and  in  Athens  received  a  pension 
for  life.  Great  honors  attended  success,  also,  at  the 
Pythian,  Nemean  and  Isthmian  games.  What  was  a 
mile  run  to  men,  accustomed  to  such  physical  training? 
The  fact  recorded  by  Herodotus  that  the  Athenians  on 
this  occasion  introduced  for  the  first  time  the  custom 
of  charging  the  enemy  at  a  run,  furnishes  no  argu- 
ment in  support  of  the  supposition  that  the  troops  were 
fagged  out  by  reason  of  that  mode  of  beginning  the 
contest.  On  the  contrary,  the  impetus  given  to  the 
attack  by  the  swift  advance  of  the  charging  column 
threw  the  enemy's  flanks  into  confusion,  contributed 
to  the  success  of  the  Greeks  and  proves  the  genius  of 

Miltiades. 

Modem  warfare  is  not  without  instances  of  physical 
endurance  almost  without  parallel.  The  armies  of 
Grant  and  Lee  were  not  composed  of  trained  athletes. 
One  instance  of  the  hardihood  of  American  soldiers  will 
be  found  in  the  Wilderness  campaign  of  1864,  which 
embraced  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness  and  the  engage- 
ments at  Spottsylvania  Court  House  and  Cold  Harbor. 
During  that  campaign  men  were  put  to  the  limit  of 
physical  endurance,  some  even  slept  while  marching, 
and  parts  of  the  army  were  under  fire,  more  or  less 
severe,  continuously  for  a  period  of  tliirty  days. 

The  day  after  the  battle,  the  Spartans,  two  thousand 
strong,  reached  the  field  of  Marathon.  The  six  thou- 
sand, four  hundred  Persians  whose  ghastly  corpses 
strewed  the  plain  were  still  unburied.     Aristides  was 


228 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    6EEECE 


looking  after  the  Greeks  who  fell  in  the  conflict,  and 
keeping  strict  guard  and  watch  over  the  rich  spoils  and 
plunder  of  the  enemy.  Marathon  was  won  by  the  Athe- 
nians alone  and  the  one  thousand  faithful  and  devoted 
Plataeans,  who  cast  in  their  lot  with  Athens,  their  friend, 
benefactor  and  protector. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

MILTIADES 

HE  father  of  Miltiades  was  Cimon.  The  lat- 
ter had  a  brother  named  Miltiades.  Care 
must  be  taken  not  to  confuse  the  uncle  with 
his  illustrious  nephew.  The  Cimon  who  won 
the  double  victory  at  the  Eurymedon  and  be- 
came the  most  illustrious  admiral  of  his  age,  was  the  son 
of  Miltiades  and  grandson  of  the  elder  Cimon,  whose 
name  he  bore.  The  father  of  Miltiades  and  his  paternal 
uncle  dwelt  in  Athens  in  the  time  of  Pisistratus  by  whom 
they  were  treated  with  great  injustice.  Xanthippus,  in 
whose  veins  ran  the  blood  of  Pisistratus  and  of  the 
AlcmiBonidae,  was  the  father  of  Pericles.  From  Pisis- 
tratus and  from  the  elder  Cimon,  therefore,  sprung 
four  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  Hellas;  Milti- 
ades, who  defeated  Datis  at  Marathon,  his  son  Cimon, 
who,  as  a  naval  commander,  must  be  classed  with 
Themistocles ;  Xanthippus,  who  commanded  the  Athe- 
nian fleet  at  Mycale,  took  Sestus  and  secured  the  con- 
trol of  Hellespont;  and  his  son,  Pericles,  the  first 
orator  and  statesman  of  his  age. 

Xanthippus  was  the  enemy  of  Miltiades  and  was  in- 
strumental in  bringing  about  his  downfall.  Cimon,  the 
son  of  Miltiades,  was  the  political  rival  of  Pericles,  the 
son  of  Xanthippus.  Cimon  was  defeated  as  a  party 
leader  by  Pericles,  although  Cimon  used  all  his  great 
influence  as  the  head  of  the  Athenian  navy,  and  ad- 
miral of  the  Athenian  empire,  to  compass  the  defeat  of 
his  rival. 

229 


230 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


Miltiades  was  of  noble  lineage.     He  could  trace  his 
ancestors  to  ^Eacus  and  Telamon  of  iEgina,  and  Ajax, 
mythical  hero  of  the  Trojan  War.     Long  before  that 
memorable  struggle  Telamon  migrated  to  Salamis,  and 
became  King  of  the  Salaminians.     Ajax  joined  the  ex- 
pedition of  Agamemnon  with  twelve  ships,  and,  next  to 
Achilles,  was  regarded  as  the  bravest  among  the  Greeks. 
The  Athenians  revered  his  memory,  and  when  CHsthenes 
established  the  Attic  tribes,  the  tribe  of  Mantis  was 
named  in  his  honor.     When  the  constitution  of  CHs- 
thenes  was   adopted  establishing  the  Athenian   tribes, 
Miltiades  was  in  the  Thracian  Chersonese,  but  as  an 
Athenian,  he  was  enrolled,  not  in  the  tribe  of  yEantis 
named  in  honor  of  his  distinguished  ancestor,  but  in 
the  tribe  of  CEneis,  son  of  Priam,  King  of  Troy.     As 
to  the  date  of  the  birth  of  this  distinguished  man  we  are 
not  informed.     Assuming  that  he  was  fifty-one  when 
he  died,  he  was  born  B.  C.  540.     Consequently,  he  was 
twenty-seven  or  twenty-eight  (B.  C.  613-12)  when  he 
accompanied  Darius  on  his  Scythian  expedition,  and  ad- 
vised the  destruction  of  the  bridge  across  the  Ister, 
that  his  sovereign  might  perish  in  the  wilds  of  Scythia. 
He  was  fifty  when  he  defeated  the  Persians  at  Mara- 
thon, and  died  the  following  year   (B.  C.  489)   from 
injuries   received  when  he  broke  his  thigh  on  his   ill- 
starred  expedition  to  the  island  of  Paros. 

Miltiades  and  Cimon,  the  father  and  uncle  of  the 
great  Miltiades,  were  men  of  ample  fortune.  For  some 
reason  the  elder  Cimon  incurred  the  displeasure  of  Pisis- 
tratus,  who  caused  him  to  be  banished  from  Athens. 
He  took  with  him  into  exile  his  famous  horses,  which 
he  trained  for  the  four-horse  chariot  race,  and  con- 
tended for  the  prize  at  the  Olympian  games.  The 
mares  of  the  banished  Athenian  won  the  race,  which 
conferred  the  highest  distinction  upon  their  owner.  At 
the  next  Olympiad,  when  the  games  were  celebrated, 
Cimon,   with   the    same    mares,    again    won    the    olive 


THE    ELDER   MILTIADES 


231 


crown.  This  great  honor  being  within  his  gift,  he 
purchased  peace  with  Pisistratus,  yielded  him  the  honor 
and  caused  him  to  be  proclaimed  the  winner,  on  condi- 
tion that  he  should  be  allowed  to  return  to  Athens. 
After  the  death  of  Pisistratus,  he  won  the  crown  at 
Olympia  the  third  time.  The  sons  of  Pisistratus,  Hip- 
pias  and  Hipparchus,  presumably  jealous  of  this  phe- 
nomenal success,  and  the  great  honors  paid  to  Cimon, 
caused  him  to  be  put  to  death.  Miltiades,  the  elder, 
when  his  brother  Cimon  was  assassinated,  was  absent 
from  Athens,  residing  at  Cardia,  having  been  seated  on 
the  throne  as  first  king  of  the  Thracian  Chersonese, 
which  was  conferred  upon  him  under  the  following  cir- 
cumstances. 

The  Chersonese  was  inhabited  by  a  Thracian  tribe, 
known  as  the  Dolonci,  who  became  engaged  in  a  war 
with  the  Apsinthians,  another  Thracian  tribe,  dwelling 
to  the  north  of  the  peninsula.  While  hostilities  were 
in  progress,  the  Dolonci  sent  an  embassy  to  Delphi  to 
consult  the  oracle  as  to  what  was  the  wisest  course  to 
pursue  in  behalf  of  their  tribe.  The  pythoness  in  re- 
sponse to  their  inquiries  gave  the  mystic  response, 
"  Take  back  as  a  colonist  into  your  country  the  man 
who,  after  quitting  the  temple,  shall  first  offer  you  hos- 
pitality." The  embassy  left  Delphi  by  the  Sacred  Road 
through  Phocis  and  Boeotia,  but  no  one  proffered  hos- 
pitality. They  then  journeyed  into  Attica  and  came 
to  Athens.  As  they  were  passing  the  house  of  Milti- 
ades, the  wealthy  patrician,  who  was  seated  in  front 
of  his  dwelling,  was  attracted  by  the  striking  appear- 
ance and  picturesque  dress  of  the  approaching  pilgrims. 
He  became  interested,  accosted  their  leader,  and  bade 
them  partake  of  his  hospitality.  The  strangers  then 
disclosed  their  mission,  repeated  what  the  oracle  had 
said,  and  invited  Miltiades  to  sojourn  with  them  to  the 
Chersonese  in  obedience  to  the  divine  command. 

The   imperious   conduct  of  Pisistratus   toward  his 


232 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


family  was  distasteful  to  Miltiades.     He  therefore  de- 
cided to  go  to  Delphi.     He  consulted  the  oracle  and 
was  convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  to  comply  with  the 
wishes  of  the  Dolonci.     He  gathered  a  number  of  colo- 
nists, and  having  arrived  in  the  Chersonese,  was  in- 
stalled as  governor  of  the  peninsula.    It  was  this  Milti- 
ades who  built  the  wall  across  the  neck  of  the  Cherson- 
ese from  the  city  of  Cardia  on  the  gulf  of  Melas  to 
Pactya  on  the  Hellespont,  a  distance   of  about   four 
miles,  and  secured  the  Chersonese  against  the  inroads 
of  the  Apsinthians.    He  then  made  war  on  Lampsacus, 
on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Hellespont.     In  one  of  his 
campaigns  he  fell  into  an  ambush  and  was  made  pris- 
oner.    Fortunately  Miltiades  stood  high  in  the  favor 
of  Croesus,  King  of  Lydia,  who  commanded  the  Lamp- 
sacians  to  release  him.     Fearing  the  anger  of  Croesus, 
they  liberated  their  prisoner  who  returned  to  his  do- 
minions.    Some  time  afterwards  he  died  childless,  leav- 
ing  his   kingdom   to   his   nephew    Stesagoras,   son    of 
Cimon,  and  brother  of  Miltiades.     Before  the  war  with 
Lampsacus    was    ended,    Stesagoras    was    assassinated. 
He  left  no  descendants.     The  sons  of  Pisistratus,  per- 
haps in  an  effort  to  atone  for  the  wrong  they  had  done 
Cimon,  and  to  secure  the  government  of  the  Cherson- 
ese, to  an  Athenian,  fitted  out  a  squadron,  and  sent  Mil- 
tiades to  rule  on  the  Hellespont.     When  he  arrived, 
the  inhabitants  came  to  condole  with  him  for  the  loss 
of  his  brother,  but  Miltiades,  fearing  treachery,  com- 
manded them  to  be  thrown  into  prison,  and  thus  began 
his  reign.     He  entered  into  a  treaty  with  Olorus,  king 
of  Thrace,  who  provided  him  with  a  body  of  Thracian 
mercenaries  for  his  protection.     Miltiades  cemented  his 
relations  with  Olorus  by   marrying  his   daughter  the 
princess  Hegesipyla.    From  this  union  was  bom  Cimon, 
the  illustrious  Athenian  admiral. 

Miltiades,  by  reason  of  his  experience  and  training, 
seems  to  have  been  especially  designed  by  providence 


TRAINING    OF    MILTIADES 


233 


to  lead  the  Athenians  at  Marathon.  He  was  familiar 
with  the  mode  of  warfare  practised  by  the  half  savage 
Medes  and  their  barbarous  allies,  the  Scyths  and 
Thracians.  As  has  been  observ^ed,  he  was  married  to  a 
Thracian  princess,  the  daughter  of  King  Olorus.  He 
had  fought  under  the  eye  of  Darius  himself,  and  ac- 
companied his  expedition  on  the  Ister  (Danube).  He 
was  one  of  the  officers  chosen  by  the  Persian  monarch 
to  guard  the  bridge  of  boats,  across  the  Ister,  during 
the  king's  absence  into  the  wilds  of  Scythia.  Had  the 
counsel  of  Miltiades  prevailed  on  that  occasion  the 
bridge  would  have  been  destroyed,  and  Darius  left  to 
perish  in  the  desolate  regions  into  which  he  had  pene- 
trated. The  native  Persians  were  reputed  to  be  en- 
dowed with  extraordinary  courage,  and  their  barbarous 
allies  were  noted  for  their  cruelty  and  barbarous  cus- 
toms. These  facts,  doubtless,  prompted  Herodotus 
to  say  that  up  to  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Marathon, 
"  the  very  name  of  the  Mede  had  been  a  terror  to  the 
Greeks."  Their  reputation  for  cruelty  was  established, 
no  doubt,  by  reason  of  the  atrocities  they  had  com- 
mitted during  the  Ionian  Wars,  an  account  of  which 
is  given  in  a  preceding  chapter,  in  which  a  small  num- 
ber of  Athenians  and  Eretrians  had  participated  in  the 
campaign  which  resulted  in  the  burning  of  Sardis. 

Just  as  the  English  colonists  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
American  revolution  regarded  the  merciless  Indian 
savages,  whose  known  rule  of  warfare  was  "  an  undis- 
tinguished destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes  and  condi- 
tions," so  the  Attic  Greeks,  who  had  not  participated 
in  the  Ionian  Wars,  regarded  the  savage  inhabitants  of 
Thrace,  Scythia  and  Media.  To  extend  the  illustra- 
tion. The  French  and  Indian  war  was  the  school  in 
which  Washington  and  Stark  and  Putnam  and  Pres- 
cott  were  trained  to  fight  the  cannibal  and  savage  Iro- 
quois and  Algonquins.  The  American  revolution  be- 
gan as  the  French  and  Indian  War  closed.     The  vet- 


234 


MIUTA&Y   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


PELASGIANS   IN    LEMNOS 


23S 


III 


erans  of  the  latter  became  the  leaders  of  the  patriots 
in  the  revolution.  They  were  skilled  in  Indian  warfare, 
and  familiar  with  the  customs  and  habits  practised  by 
the  savage  allies,  which  the  British  sovereign  brought 
on  the  defencelsss  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers.  Milti- 
ades  was  no  stranger  to  the  allies,  mustered  under 
Datis  and  Artaphernes.  Their  reputation  for  sav- 
agery and  barbarism  had  no  terrors  for  him  any  more 
than  the  mode  of  warfare  practised  by  the  savages  had 
for  the  veterans  of  the  French  and  Indian  War. 

Miltiades  knew  also  what  defeat  at  Marathon  meant 
for  him.  He  had  not  only  been  enrolled  in  the  navy 
of  Darius,  and  sought  his  destruction  at  the  Ister 
bridge,  but  during  the  Ionian  Wars  he  fought  against 
him.  While  the  Persian  fleets  and  armies  were  engaged 
in  the  reduction  of  Miletus  and  other  Greek  cities,  Mil- 
tiades took  advantage  of  the  oportunity  to  descend 
upon  the  islands  of  Lemnos  and  Imbros  from  which  he 
drove  the  Persian  garrisons  and  Pelasgian  inhabitants, 
and  ceded  the  islands  to  Athens.  We  have  no  data 
from  which  we  can  state  positively  the  time  when  Milti- 
ades took  these  islands.  The  assumption  seems  rea- 
sonable that  the  event  took  place  immediately  preceding 
or  during  the  early  part  of  the  Ionian  War.  Mr. 
Grote  says  some  time  between  602  and  494  B.  C. 

The  Athenians  at  an  early  day  drove  from  Attica 
a  colony  of  Pelasgians,  who  had  been  employed  as 
laborers  to  build  a  wall  upon  the  Acropolis.  In  pay- 
ment for  these  services  they  ceded  to  them  certain  lands 
at  the  foot  of  Hymettus  just  outside  the  walls  of  the 
city,  which  the  new  owners  cultivated  with  diligence 
and  converted  them  from  barren  tracts  to  fruitful 
gardens.  Hecataeus,  whose  writings  were  consulted  by 
Herodotus  (Herod,  vi,  137),  quotes  him  as  saying  that 
the  Athenians  drove  out  these  Pelasgians  unjustly,  be- 
cause they  coveted  the  lands  which  they  had  given  them, 
after  they  had  become  productive.     According  to  the 


Athenians,  however,  the  cause  of  their  expulsion  was 
just.  The  Pelasgians,  they  said,  were  bad  neighbors. 
Their  sons  and  daughters  were  accustomed  to  go  for 
water  outside  the  city  walls  to  the  "  Nine  Springs." 
Whenever  the  young  women  went,  they  were  insulted 
by  the  Pelasgians  who  offered  violence  to  them.  They 
claimed  further  that  these  Pelasgian  neighbors  were 
constantly  plotting  to  attack  the  city.  For  these  rea- 
sons they  were  compelled  to  leave  Attica,  and  settled 
on  the  island  of  Lemnos.  Thence  they  continued  their 
depredations,  in  order  to  be  revenged  upon  the  Athe- 
nians. They  engaged  in  piratical  enterprises,  and  car- 
ried into  captivity  Athenian  women,  whom  they  kept 
as  concubines.  The  children  of  these  women,  as  they 
grew  older,  were  constantly  engaged  in  strife  with  the 
Pelasgian  youths.  For  these  reasons  these  barbarous 
people  slew  not  only  these  half-breed  children,  but  their 
mothers  also. 

Many  years  after  these  occurrences,  when  Miltiades 
ruled  in  the  Thracian  Chersonese,  he  took  advantage 
of  the  disturbances  which  resulted  in  the  Ionian  War, 
in  which  the  king  of  Persia  sought  to  subdue  the  Greek 
cities  of  Asia  Minor.  While  the  officers  in  the  service 
of  Darius  were  engaged  in  suppressing  these  revolts, 
Miltiades,  from  the  Chersonese,  descended  with  a  fleet 
upon  the  islands  of  Imbros  and  Lemnos,  drove  out  the 
Persian  garrisons,  and  expelled  the  Pelasgian  inhabit- 
ants. Darius,  after  he  had  reduced  Miletus,  sent  a 
Phoenician  fleet  to  the  Hellespont  to  take  Miltiades  and 
regain  possession  of  the  islands  he  had  conquered.  The 
latter  succeeded  in  evading  the  vigilance  of  the  enemy, 
and  with  a  squadron  of  ^\e  ships  escaped  across  the 
JEgean,  and  reached  Athens  in  safety.  So  close  was 
the  pursuit  that  one  of  the  vessels  which  accompanied 
Miltiades  was  captured  by  the  Phoenicians. 

Complaints  meantime  had  reached  Athens  concern- 
ing the  despotic  conduct  of  Miltiades  while  governor 


236 


MILITAKY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


11 


of  the  Chersonese.  When  he  reached  that  city  he  was 
put  on  trial  on  these  charges,  doubtless  preferred 
against  him  by  his  hereditary  enemies,  but  the  valuable 
services  he  had  rendered  his  country,  in  driving  the 
Persians  and  Pelasgians  from  Lemnos  and  Imbros,  mili- 
tated in  his  favor  and  led  to  his  acquittal.  His  military 
skill  and  fitness  were  recognized  also,  and  when  tidings 
were  received  of  the  approach  of  the  Persian  fleet  under 
Datis,  and  the  destruction  of  Carystus  and  Eretria, 
Miltiades  was  elected  strategus,  and  was  one  of  the  ten 
generals  who  commanded  at  Marathon. 

The  successful  issue  of  that  engagement  which  re- 
sulted in  the  liberation  of  his  country  from  the  threat- 
ened dominion  of  Persia,  made  the  name  of  Miltiades 
immortal.  He  stood  in  the  reflected  glory  of  Mara- 
thon, the  most  conspicuous  figure  in  the  ancient  world. 
The  earth  was  filled  with  his  fame.  The  achievement 
he  secured  that  day  over  Datis  and  Artaphernes  made 
his  name  familiar  to  posterity,  which  will  revere  his 
memory  while  history  continues  to  be  written. 

The  termination  of  the  career  of  Miltiades  presents 
a  mournful  spectacle,  one  of  the  most  melancholy  pic- 
tures which  time  has  thrown  upon  the  screen  of  history. 
His  sun  was  destined  to  set  amid  clouds  and  storms 
which  involved  him  in  humiliation  and  disgrace.  The 
*  besetting  sin  of  this  man  of  genius,  like  the  sin  of  many 
of  his  illustrious  race,  was  avarice.  He  seems  also  to 
have  possessed  a  spirit  of  vindictiveness,  which  the 
glory  and  honor  heaped  upon  him  as  the  reward  of  his 
military  success  could  not  soften  or  ameliorate.  He 
declared  that  he  had  been  slandered  by  an  inhabitant 
of  the  island  of  Paros,  and  he  determined  to  avenge  the 
wrong  or  fancied  wrong  he  said  he  had  suffered.  Avar- 
ice, however,  must  have  dictated  his  course,  for  while 
his  secret  purpose  was  to  punish  an  enemy,  his  real  ob- 
ject seems  to  have  been  to  levy  blackmail  on  the  pros- 
perous and  wealthy  people  of  Paros,  one  of  the  larger 


EXPEDITION    TO    FAROS 


237 


of  the  Cyclades.  It  is  situate  some  fifteen  miles  south 
of  the  sacred  island  of  Delos,  immediately  west  of  the 
wine  island  of  Naxos,  and  distant  about  seventy-five 
miles  southeast  of  Attica.  It  is  famed  for  its  quarries 
of  pure  white  Parian  marble. 

Some  months  after  his  victory  at  Marathon,  Milti- 
ades resorted  to  fraud  and  deceit  to  secure  the  means 
necessary  to  execute  his  plans.  He  stated  and  repre- 
sented to  the  Public  Assembly  that  if  they  would  fur- 
nish him  with  a  fleet  and  an  armed  force,  he  would  bring 
great  wealth  to  Athens  and  would  enrich  every  one  who 
accompanied  his  expedition.  He  did  not  disclose  the 
destination  of  his  armament,  nor  furnish  any  details 
as  to  what  he  purposed  to  do.  The  fact  that  these 
things  were  requested  by  Miltiades  was  enough.  No 
bill  of  particular  was  asked.  The  people  had  reposed 
in  him  unbounded  confidence,  and  were  delighted  with 
his  promise  of  wealth  and  riches  which  he  said  would 
result  from  his  operations.  Unhesitatingly,  without 
question,  and  it  would  seem  by  unanimous  consent,  the 
Assembly  voted  to  entrust  to  his  command  a  fleet  of 
seventy  ships,  with  a  full  complement  of  armed  men, 
and  the  funds  necessary  to  equip  the  expedition. 

Miltiades  steered  to  the  island  of  Paros.  He  dis- 
closed to  his  officers  that  his  object  was  to  punish  the 
Parians  because  he  said  they  had  taken  sides  with  the 
Persians  at  Marathon,  and  claimed  that  one  Parian 
trireme  had  joined  the  Persian  fleet  and  accompanied 
it  on  the  expedition.  This  obviously  was  only  a  pre- 
tense. He  wished  to  punish  Lysagoras,  who  happened 
to  be  a  Parian  by  whom,  Miltiades  asserted  he  had  been 
slandered,  saying  that  Lysagoras  lied  about  him  to 
Hydames,  the  Persian.  This  Hydarnes  presumably 
was  in  the  service  of  Darius,  and  was  the  father  of  the 
Hydarnes,  who  commanded  the  "  Immortals  "  in  the 
army  of  Xerxes.  The  sequel  shows  also  that  the  real 
purpose  of  Miltiades  was  blackmail,  because  as  soon  as 


238 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


It 


his  fleet  reached  Paros,  he  landed  his  forces,  drove  the 
Parians  within  their  walls,  laid  siege  to  their  city,  and 
immediately  made  a  demand  for  one  hundred  talents, 
a  sum  in  excess  of  $100,000,  and  threatened  to  take  the 
town  if  the  money  was  not  paid. 

The  Parians  rejected  the  demand  with  scorn,  and  at 
once  began  to  increase  the  height  of  their  walls,  where 
they  were  likely  to  be  carried  by  assault,  and  defied  the 
army  of  Miltiades.  The  hero  of  Marathon  was  as- 
tounded at  the  attitude  of  the  enemy,  whom  he  doubtless 
believed  would  fall  an  easy  prey,  and  comply  speedily 
with  his  extortionate  demands.  So  rapidly  were  the 
walls  raised  to  a  great  height,  that  the  Athenian  gen- 
eral was  unable  to  take  the  city  by  assault.  A  siege 
would  consume  many  months.  His  position  from  a 
military  point  of  view  was  wholly  indefensible.  Among 
his  prisoners  was  a  woman  named  Timo,  an  under- 
priestess  in  the  temple  of  Demeter  (Ceres).  She  told 
Miltiades  in  confidence,  that  she  could  disclose  to  him 
a  plan  which  would  enable  him  to  capture  the  city  of 
the  Parians.  Her  advice  related  to  the  enclosure  where 
the  Thesmophorea,  a  festival  in  honor  of  Demeter,  was 
celebrated,  in  which  women  alone  participated.  This 
precinct  was  within  an  enclosure  on  a  hill  in  front  of 
the  city.  Miltiades  was  desperate.  After  consultation 
with  the  priestess,  he  visited  the  hill,  but  being  unable 
to  open  the  door  of  the  enclosure,  climbed  over  the 
fence,  and  went  to  the  sanctuary  of  Demeter,  intending, 
Herodotus  says,  "  to  do  something  within  it."  What 
he  intended  to  do  is  not  disclosed.  But  suddenly  Milti- 
ades was  seized  with  superstitious  fear.  The  man  who 
courted  danger,  loved  adventure,  and  never  quailed  be- 
fore an  enemy  on  the  battlefield,  was  seized  with  horror 
at  the  idea  of  incurring  the  wrath  of  an  offended  deity. 
He  returned  the  way  he  had  come,  climbed  the  en- 
closure, but  in  jumping  down  fractured  his  thigh  and 
dislocated  his  hip.     This  misfortune  permanently  dis- 


TEIAL   OF    MILTIADES 


239 


abled  the  Athenian  commander,  who  was  forced  to  re- 
tire from  Paros  and  return  to  Athens  after  an  absence 
of  twenty-six  days. 

Soon  every  tongue  in  Athens  was  busy.  Miltiades, 
the  idol  of  the  people,  who  had  been  a  short  time  before 
the  object  of  universal  admiration,  suddenly  became 
the  object  of  denunciation,  and  the  topic  of  universal 
criticism.  He  had  deceived  the  people.  He  had  at- 
tempted to  avenge  his  private  quarrels,  and  to  augment 
his  private  fortune  at  the  public  expense.  He  had  be- 
trayed the  trust  reposed  in  him  and  forfeited  public 
confidence.  His  principal  accuser  was  the  proud  Xan- 
thippus  of  the  hostile  house  of  the  Alcmaeonidae.  He 
was  instrumental  in  formulating  the  charges,  and  ap- 
parently assumed  control  of  the  impeachment  proceed- 
ings in  the  Public  Assembly,  where  Miltiades  was  placed 
on  trial  for  his  life.  The  specific  complaint  was,  that 
he  had  "wilfully  deceived  the  people."  Those  who 
stood  by  the  noted  prisoner  were  doubtless  some  of  his 
comrades  in  arms,  who  remembered  only  Marathon. 

The  scenes  which  now  gathered  about  Miltiades  are 
cast  in  sombre  colors.  The  man  who  had  endured  the 
hardships  of  the  Scythian  campaign,  defied  Darius  at 
Lemnos  and  Imbros  during  the  Ionian  revolt,  and 
taught  his  countrymen  to  face  the  proud  Persian  and 
barbarous  Scyth  at  the  critical  moment  in  his  country's 
history;  the  man  whose  daring  at  Marathon  has  been 
applauded  by  posterity  for  more  than  twenty  centuries ; 
this  distinguished  man  in  the  last  hours  of  his  earthly 
career  was  destined  to  suffer  extreme  physical  and  men- 
tal torture.  The  hurts  which  he  received  while  at- 
tempting to  extort  large  sums  of  money  from  a  peace- 
ful community  of  Hellenic  blood  on  the  island  of  Paros 
were  beyond  the  skill  of  the  physicians  of  that  age,  who 
knew  very  little  about  surgery  as  we  understand  it, 
and  were  entirely  ignorant  of  anaesthetics.  These  in- 
juries were  mortal.    When  his  trial  came  on,  Miltiades 


240 


MnjTARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


was  unable  to  rise  from  his  bed.  Gangrene  had  made 
its  appearance.  Mortification  had  supervened  and  the 
patient  endured  extreme  physical  agony.  The  animos- 
ity and  bitterness  with  which  he  had  been  pursued  by 
Xanthippus,  his  chief  accuser,  were  wholly  unwar- 
ranted. His  hatred  seems  to  have  been  inherited  be- 
cause Hippias  and  Hipparchus,  the  sons  of  Pisistratus, 
who  were  also  related  to  Xanthippus,  had  compassed 
the  death  of  Cimon,  father  of  the  accused.  It  was  the 
same  Hippias  whose  treasonable  designs  Miltiades  had 
defeated  at  Marathon.  When  the  trial  opened  before 
the  Public  Assembly  on  the  hill  of  Pnyx,  the  distin- 
guished culprit  was  borne  before  his  accusers  reclining 
on  his  couch,  unable  to  rise.  It  was  doubtless  his  pres- 
ence which  prevented  his  countrymen  from  inflicting 
on  him  the  death  penalty.  The  trial  went  against  him, 
but  Xanthippus  was  unable  to  persuade  the  Athenians 
to  impose  a  sentence  of  death.  Instead,  he  was  fined 
fifty  talents,  approximately  $50,000,  presumably  a  sura 
sufficient  to  reimburse  the  public  treasury  for  the 
moneys  which  had  been  expended  in  fitting  out  the  ex- 
pedition to  Paros.  Miltiades  did  not  long  survive  his 
conviction,  but  died  shortly  after  the  trial  was  con- 
cluded. 

Miltiades,  it  has  been  said,  was  poor  when  this  final 
misfortune  overtook  him.  His  landed  property  in  the 
Chersonesus,  together  with  a  large  proportion  of  his 
wealth,  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Persians  (Cur- 
tius  Hist.  Greece,  Vol.  2,  p.  257).  However  this  may 
be,  it  is  certain,  he  spent  his  last  days  in  prison,  be- 
cause of  his  failure  to  pay  the  fine  imposed  upon  him 
by  his  ungrateful  countrymen.  Notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  this  distinguished  prisoner  had  conferred 
upon  Athens  the  islands  of  Lemnos  and  Imbros,  after 
he  had  driven  out  the  Persians  and  conquered  the 
Pelasgian  inhabitants;  notwithstanding  he  had  saved 
his  country  from  the  invading  armies  of  Persia,  never- 


i 


DEATH    OF    MILTIADES 


241 


theless,  the  Athenians  did  not  see  fit  to  release  the  fine 
they  had  imposed  on  him,  and  which  he  was  unable  to 
pay,  and  permitted  him  to  die  in  prison. 

According  to  the  oppressive  and  unjust  laws  of 
Athens,  Cimon,  the  only  son  of  Miltiades,  was  com- 
pelled to  discharge  this  obligation  which  had  been  im- 
posed upon  his  father.  He  was  obliged  not  only  to 
pay  the  debt,  for  which  he  was  in  no  way  responsible, 
but  was  deprived  automatically  of  his  rights  of  citizen- 
ship; was  forbidden  to  exercise  the  franchise;  and  be- 
came ineligible  to  office,  so  long  as  the  debt  imposed  on 
his  father  remained  unpaid.  It  has  been  said,  also, 
that  the  son,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  was  obliged 
to  take  his  place  in  prison.^  At  all  events,  the  great 
Cimon  was  ruined  and  doubtless  would  have  died  in  ob- 
scurity had  not  Callias,  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in 
Athens,  assisted  him  in  his  distress,  and  paid  the  debt 
which  the  law  imposed  upon  him.  All  this  came  about 
because  Callias  loved  Elplnice,  the  daughter  of  Milti- 
ades, and  sister  of  Cimon.  His  devotion  to  the  lady 
was  such  that  he  cheerfully  discharged  the  obligation 
which  gave  freedom  and  citizenship  to  the  brother  of 
his  fiancee,  and  Cimon  subsequently  became  the  greatest 
admiral  of  his  time,  except  perhaps  Themistocles. 

How  strangely  inconsistent  appear  the  decrees  of 
fate,  when  we  remember  that  this  Elpinice,  the  sister 
of  Cimon  and  daughter  of  Miltiades,  afterwards  won 
the  esteem  and  friendship  of  the  dignified  Pericles,  the 
son  of  Xanthippus,  to  whom  she  afterwards  appealed 
to  intercede  for  her  brother,  Cimon,  to  avert  a  decree 
of  ostracism  about  to  be  pronounced  against  him. 

In  charity  we  must  overlook  the  manifold  sins  and 
transgressions  of  Miltiades,  and  remember  only  his  vir- 
tues and  his  patriotism,  the  undaunted  courage  and 
marked  determination  which  enabled  him,  at  a  critical 

»See  Cimon,  Chap.  XXXV,  post. 


242 


MIUTAEY  AKNALS    OP    GREECE 


moment,  to  avert  the  sword  of  Persia,  which  threatened 
destruction  to  his  country.  The  benefits  which  flowed 
from  his  triumph  accrued  to  all  mankind.  As  a  result 
Greece  became  the  most  famous  country  in  the  world, 
whose  poetry  and  literature,  philosophy  and  art,  is  our 
abundant  inheritance  and  possession  forever.  Pausa- 
nias,  the  distinguished  traveller  and  critic,  who  flour- 
ished in  the  second  century  of  our  era,  referring  to 
Marathon,  says  that  there  was  erected  on  the  field  a 
tomb  of  the  Athenians  upon  which  are  pillars  bearing 
the  names  of  the  men  who  fell  in  the  battle,  arranged 
according  to  their  tribes.  In  the  same  place,  he  says, 
there  is  a  monument  to  Miltiades.  Here,  according  to 
the  legend,  every  night  is  heard  the  sound  of  horses 
neighing,  and  of  men  fighting.  Yet  there  is  no  author- 
ity for  the  supposition  that  any  cavalry  took  part  in 
the  battle. 


^  i 


CHAPTER    XV 

SECOND    PERSIAN    WAR  — INVASION    OF    XERXES 
ADVISABILITY  OF  THE  EXPEDITION  —  DREAM 
OF  XERXES  — DEPARTURE  FROM  SARDIS 


li 


[ARIUS  HYSTASPES,  while  engaged  in  pre- 
paring for  a  third  invasion  of  Greece,  to  re- 
trieve the  ignominy  of  the  defeat  of  his  army 
at  Marathon,  which  marked  the  close  of  the 
First  Persian  War,  died  B.  C.  486,  and  his 
son  Xerxes  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Asia.  The  most 
memorable  event  in  his  reign,  and  one  that  will  be  re- 
membered by  posterity  for  all  time,  was  his  invasion  of 
Greece,  and  the  lamentable  failure  of  his  attempt  to 
conquer  Hellas,  and  extend  his  empire  in  the  west, 
known  as  the  Second  Persian  War. 

The  conspicuous  features  of  this  episode  in  the  reign 
of  Xerxes  are:  (1)  The  extent  of  his  military  opera- 
tions, and  the  magnitude  of  his  armament,  which,  prior 
to  the  Austro-Servian  war,  of  1914,  was  the  greatest 
that  ever  assembled  on  the  planet;  (2)  The  shameful 
cowardice  of  Xerxes,  who  after  the  defeat  of  his  fleet  at 
Salamis,  retreated  with  his  land  forces  as  well  as  his 
navy,  the  former  never  having  fought  a  battle  save  the 
encounter  with  a  handful  of  Greeks  under  Leonidas  at 
Thermopylae;  (3)  The  superhuman  courage  and 
prodigies  of  valor  displayed  by  the  Greeks  in  the  strug- 
gle for  their  liberties  and  independence. 

What  we  know  about  the  Persian  Wars  and  espe- 
cially of  the  invasion  of  Greece  by  Xerxes,  we  learn 
from  Herodotus,  who  wrote  a  graphic  account  of  his 
military  operations.     His  style  is  charming,  and  his 

243 


244 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


narrative  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  the  literature 
of  antiquity.     After  more  than  twenty-three  centuries, 
we  are  enabled  through  the  pages   of  Herodotus   to 
look  through  the  vista  of  ages,  and  see  the  ancient 
world,  as  it  existed  in  the  fifth  century  before  Christ. 
He  has  thrown  upon  the  canvas  of  history  pictures  of 
the  stirring  events  growing  out  of  the  attempt  of  the 
Persians  to  conquer  Greece.     He  paints  his  scenes  in 
fair  colors,  and  we  can  look  at  them  as  they  pass  in 
review  like  a  panorama.     The  perspective  of  time  and 
distance  is  abridged,  and  we  can  enter  the  camp  of 
Xerxes  and  see  the  files  of  his  army  on  its  way  from 
Critalla ;  see  the  glittering  hosts  issuing  from  the  gates 
of  Sardis,  and  again  behold  the  great  armament  which 
covered  land  and  sea  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  as 
Xerxes  viewed  it   from  the  throne  he  erected  on  the 
shores    of  the   Hellespont.      Also   the  exciting   scenes 
which  occurred  amid  the  forests  of  Thrace  and  Mace- 
donia, when  the  lions  attacked  the  camels  from  Arabia 
and  Bactria  which  accompanied  the  expedition.     We 
can  enter  the  councils  of  the  Persians  and  listen  to  the 
discussion   respecting   the    operations    of   the   fleet   of 
Xerxes  at  Salamis.    We  can  see  Xerxes  and  Mardonius 
and  hear  the  arguments  advanced  by  the  King  of  Tyre 
and  Sidon  and  Artemisia,  Queen  of  Halicarnassus,  as 
to  the  advisability  of  an  attack  on  the  Greeks  in  the 
narrow  strait  off  the  island  of  Salamis.     We  can  see 
the  hosts  of  Xerxes  collected  from  three  continents  as 
they  marched  in  review  on  the  plain  of  Doriscus,  and 
tell  the  dress,  the  arms  and  accoutrements  of  troops 
from  forty-six  nations,  and  speaking  many  languages. 
We  can  see  them  counted  and  registered  and  their  num- 
bers taken  down  and  recorded  by  the  scribes  appointed 
by  Xerxes  to  secure  a  roster  of  his  army.     We  can 
hear  the  conversation  of  Xerxes  with  Demaratus,  the 
Spartan  exile,  when  the  Persian  monarch,  in  anticipa- 
tion of  a  physical  contest  in  the  field,  inquired  of  him 


l§ 


EETROSPECT    OF    EVENTS 


245 


concerning  the  constancy  and  valor  of  his  countrymen. 
The  picturesque  Vale  of  Tempe  is  before  us,  the  nar- 
row gateway  of  Greece,  with  its  mountain  gorges 
through  which  the  Peneus  rolls  on  its  way  to  the  sea. 
So,  likewise,  the  famous  pass  of  Thermopylae  whose  ver- 
tical walls  of  rock  washed  by  the  waters  of  the  gulf 
of  Malis  witnessed  the  most  daring  feat  of  arms  re- 
corded in  history.  We  witness  the  efforts  of  Mardonius 
on  the  field  of  Plataea,  after  Xerxes  had  fled  to  Asia, 
who  would  rather  die  and  leave  his  bones  to  bleach  on 
the  shores  of  the  Asopus  than  suffer  defeat  and  return 
in  disgrace  to  the  royal  palace  at  Susa. 

These  events  make  up  the  story  of  Xerxes'  invasion 
of  Hellas,  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  interesting 
episodes  in  the  history  of  Greece. 

After  the  defeat  of  the  Persian  army  at  Marathon 
B.  C.  490,  Darius,  filled  with  rage  and  mortified  and 
chagrined  beyond  expression,  was  more  than  ever  de- 
termined to  subjugate  Greece  and  extend  his  empire 
in  the  west  to  the  gates  of  Hercules.  He  had  previ- 
ously, with  that  end  in  view,  sent  an  army  of  100,000 
men  under  Datis  and  Artaphemes,  accompanied  by  a 
strong  fleet.  This  army,  formidable  as  it  seemed,  was 
defeated  by  a  handful  of  Greeks.  The  figures  seem 
justified  when  we  remember  that  Athens  alone  fought 
at  Marathon  with  10,000  men,  supported  by  1,000 
troops  from  patriotic  loyal  Plataea,  who  sent  to  the  aid 
of  her  friend  and  ally  every  man  in  the  city  capable 
of  bearing  arms.  In  view  of  these  facts  Darius  pur- 
posed to  collect  an  army  in  which  should  be  enrolled 
every  available  soldier  in  his  empire.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  commanding  large  armies.  In  his  expedition 
against  the  Scythians  he  led  700,000  men.  By  the  de- 
feat of  his  arms  at  Marathon  he  was  made  aware  of 
the  military  prowess  of  the  Greeks  and  their  unrivalled 
valor.  He  determined,  therefore,  to  assemble  an  army 
compared  with   which   the   numerical   strength   of  the 


ii 


246 


MTLITAEY  ANNALS   OF   GaEECE 


PLANS    OF   XEEXES 


247 


forces  he  commanded  in  the  Scythian  campaign  would 
seem  insignificant.  He  at  once  sent  recruiting  officers 
throughout  the  confines  of  his  empire  to  levy  troops 
and  require  ships,  horses,  coin  and  transports  for  the 
mighty  host.  Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  work 
of  enrollment  may  be  had,  when  we  consider  the  extent 
of  his  dominions  and  time  consumed  in  mustering  his 
forces.  His  empire  embraced  the  civilized  world,  ex- 
cepting Greece,  Italy,  Sicily  and  Carthage.  Among 
the  Israelites,  the  Persian  monarch  is  known  as  Ahas- 
ueras,  and  his  kingdom  is  thus  referred  to  in  the  He- 
brew Scriptures  (Esther,  i,  1).  "This  is  Ahasuerus 
which  reigned  from  India  even  unto  Ethiopia,  over  a 
hundred  and  seven  and  twenty  provinces."  The  Indus 
marked  the  borders  of  his  dominions  on  the  east,  Ara- 
bia, Egypt  and  Lybia  on  the  south,  the  iEgean  on  the 
west.  On  the  north  it  extended  into  the  vast  regions 
on  the  Caspian,  and  the  Oxus,  inhabited  by  Scythians 
and  Tartars.  It  included  in  Europe,  Thrace  south  of 
the  Ister  (Danube),  extending  from  the  Euxine  west 
to  the  mountain  ranges  of  Pelion,  Ossa  and  Olympus, 
which  form  the  boundaries  of  northern  Greece,  and 
constitute  the  barrier  which  separates  Thessaly  from 
the  regions  of  Macedonia.  Darius  spent  three  years 
in  mustering  troops  from  all  parts  of  this  vast  terri- 
tory over  which  he  exercised  absolute  sovereignty. 
Then  the  work  was  interrupted  because  Egypt,  which 
had  been  conquered  by  Cambyses,  revolted.  While 
engaged  in  these  preparations,  and  before  he  set  out 
on  his  expedition  to  subdue  the  revolt  in  Egjrpt,  Darius 
died,  and  his  son  Xerxes  succeeded  to  the  throne  of 
Persia. 

The  new  monarch,  at  first,  was  not  favorably  im- 
pressed with  the  idea  of  invading  Greece,  but  was  per- 
suaded to  consider  the  matter,  when  he  should  have  con- 
quered Egypt.  After  two  years  he  conducted  a  vigor- 
ous campaign  against  the  Egyptian  rebels  and  sub- 


dued them.  On  his  return  to  his  capital  at  Susa,  he 
assembled  the  chief  men  of  his  court  and  invited  them 
to  give  their  opinions  in  regard  to  the  expedition 
against  Greece.  He  told  them  that  Persia  had  never 
been  inactive  since  it  wrested  the  sovereign  power  from 
the  Medes.  After  the  lapse  of  twenty-four  centuries 
we  may  read  the  speech  of  Xerxes,  which  Herodotus 
(vii,  8)  has  preserved  for  us.     He  spoke  as  follows: 

"  Men  of  Persia,"  he  said,  "  what  deeds  Cyrus  and 
Cambyses  and  my  father  Darius  have  achieved,  and 
what  nations  they  have  added  to  our  empire  no  one  need 
mention  to  you  who  know  them  well.  On  mature  con- 
sideration I  find  that  we  may  at  once  acquire  an  in- 
crease of  glory,  and  a  country  not  inferior  nor  poorer, 
but  even  more  productive  than  that  we  now  possess,  and 
at  the  same  time  that  satisfaction  and  vengeance  will 
accrue  to  us.  I  have  called  you  to  communicate  to  you 
what  I  now  purpose  to  do.  I  intend  to  throw  a  bridge 
over  the  Hellespont  and  march  an  army  through  Eu- 
rope against  Greece,  that  I  may  punish  the  Athenians 
for  the  injuries  they  have  done  to  the  Persians  and  to 
my  father. 

"  You  have  already  seen  Darius  preparing  to  make 
war  against  these  people;  but  he  died,  and  had  it  not 
in  his  power  to  avenge  himself.  But  I,  in  his  cause, 
and  that  of  the  other  Persians,  will  not  rest  till  I  have 
taken  and  burnt  Athens.  For  they  first  began  by  doing 
acts  of  injustice  against  my  father  and  me.  First  of 
all,  for  having  come  to  Sardis,  with  Aristagoras,  the 
Milesian,  our  servant ;  on  their  arrival  they  burnt  down 
both  the  groves  and  the  temples.  And,  secondly,  how 
they  treated  us  on  our  making  a  descent  on  their  terri- 
tory, when  Datis  and  Artaphernes  led  our  forces,  you 
all  know  well  enough. 

"  For  these  reasons,  therefore,  I  have  resolved  to 
make  war  upon  them.  And  on  reflection,  I  find  the 
following  advantages  in  this  course ;  if  we  shall  subdue 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


them  and  their  neighbors,  who  inhabit  the  country  of 
Pelops,  the  Phrygian,  we  shall  make  the  Persian  terri- 
tory co-extensive  with  the  air  of  heaven ;  nor  will  the 
sun  look  down  upon  any  land  that  borders  on  ours ;  but 
I,  with  your  assistance,  will  make  them  all  one  territory, 
marching  through  the  whole  of  Europe.  For  I  am  in- 
formed that  such  is  the  case  that  no  city  or  nation  in 
the  world  will  remain  which  will  be  able  to  come  to 
battle  with  us,  when  those  whom  I  have  mentioned  have 
been  brought  into  subjection.  Thus,  both  those  who 
are  guilty,  and  those  who  are  not  guilty,  must  equally 
submit  to  the  yoke  of  servitude.  You,  therefore,  by 
doing  what  I  require,  will  gratify  me  exceedingly,  when 
I  shall  have  informed  you  of  the  time,  it  will  be  the 
duty  of  each  of  you  to  come  promptly.  And  whosoever 
shall  appear  with  the  best-appointed  troops,  to  him  I 
will  give  such  presents  as  are  accounted  most  honorable 
to  our  country." 

This  very  clear  and  explicit  address  of  Xerxes  as- 
signs the  reasons,  which  to  his  mind  justified  his  inva- 
sion of  Greece.  His  reference  to  Marathon,  however, 
will  provoke  a  smile.  He  assumes  that  the  conduct 
of  the  Greeks  was  outrageous  in  his  reference  as  to 
how  Datis  and  Artaphernes  were  treated,  when  they 
made  a  descent  on  the  territory  of  the  Greeks.  What 
else  could  the  Persian  monarch  expect  when  his  army 
went  into  their  territory  with  arms  in  their  hands,  to 
make  slaves  of  the  Hellenes.'^ 

Xerxes,  however,  when  he  had  finished  his  address, 
requested  each  man  in  the  assembly  to  boldly  declare 
his  opinion  on  the  subject  under  discussion. 

Mardonius  warmly  advocated  the  project  outlined  by 
his  sovereign.  He  reminded  him  of  the  fact  that  Persia 
had  already  brought  into  subjection  the  Greeks  resid- 
ing in  Asia,  the  lonians,  iEolians  and  Dorians.  He 
referred  to  his  own  experience  when  he  led  a  Persian 
army  into  Thrace  and  conquered  the  barbarous  tribes 


SPEECH    OP   AETABANUS 


249 


in  Europe  on  the  northern  shores  of  the  yEgean,  as  far 
as  Macedonia  and  the  confines  of  continental  Greece, 
which  countries,  he  said,  submitted  to  his  authority, 
fearing  even  to  risk  a  battle. 

There  was,  however,  one  man  in  the  Assembly  who, 
at  the  peril  of  his  life,  dared  to  advise  his  sovereign 
that,  in  his  judgment  the  expedition  contemplated  by 
Xerxes  would  be  unwise  and  unprofitable.  This  cour- 
ageous counsellor  was  Artabanus,  the  brother  of  the 
late  monarch  Darius,  and  the  uncle  of  Xerxes.  He 
made  a  very  clear  and  convincing  address,  and  brought 
to  the  attention  of  his  sovereign  some  facts  which  had 
not  been  adverted  to  and  which  he  thought  it  well  that 
Xerxes  should  not  forget.  He  reminded  him  of  Mara- 
thon, and  of  his  father's  narrow  escape  when  he  made 
an  expedition  into  Scythia,  beyond  the  Ister  (Danube). 
Among  other  things  in  this  remarkable  address  (He- 
rodotus, vii,  10),  Artabanus  said: 

"  I  warned  your  father  and  my  brother  not  to  make 
war  upon  the  Scythians,  a  people  who  have  no  city  in 
any  part  of  their  territory,  but  he,  hoping  to  subdue 
the  Scythian  nomads,  heeded  not  my  advice,  and  having 
led  an  army  against  them,  returned  with  the  loss  of 
many  brave  men.  But  you,  O  King,  are  about  to  make 
war  on  men  far  superior  to  the  Scythians;  who  are 
said  to  be  most  valiant,  both  by  sea  and  land.  It  is 
therefore  right  that  I  should  inform  you  of  the  danger 
we  have  to  fear.  You  say  that  having  thrown  a  bridge 
over  the  Hellespont,  you  will  march  an  army  through 
Europe  into  Greece.  Now  it  may  happen  that  we  shall 
be  worsted  either  by  land  or  sea,  or  even  by  both ;  for 
the  people  are  said  to  be  valiant,  and  this  we  may  infer 
since  the  Athenians  alone  destroyed  so  great  an  army 
that  invaded  the  Attic  territory,  under  Datis  and  Arta- 
phernes. They  were  not,  however,  successful  in  both, 
but  if  they  should  attack  us  with  their  fleet,  and  having 
obtained  a  naval  victory,  should  sail  to  the  Hellespont 


2SO 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


i 


XEBXES    BBEAMS 


251 


and  destroy  the  bridge,  this   surely,  O  King,  were  a 
great  danger. 

"  Nor  do  I  found  this  conjecture  on  any  wisdom  of 
my  own,  but  from  the  calamity  that  once  all  but  be- 
fell us,  when  your  father,  having  joined  the  shores  of 
the  Thracian  Bosphorus,  and  thrown  a  bridge  over 
the  Ister,  crossed  over  to  attack  the  Scythians.  Then 
the  Scythians  used  every  means  to  induce  the  lonians, 
to  whom  the  guard  of  the  passage  over  the  Ister  had 
been  intrusted,  to  break  up  the  bridge.  And  if,  at  that 
time,  Histiaeus,  tyrant  (governor)  of  Miletus,  had  as- 
sented to  the  opinions  of  the  other  tyrants  (gover- 
nors), and  had  not  opposed  it,  the  power  of  the  Persians 
would  have  been  utterly  ruined.  It  is  dreadful  even  to 
hear  it  said,  that  the  whole  power  of  the  King  de- 
pended on  a  single  man.  Do  not,  therefore,  willingly 
expose  yourself  to  any  such  danger,  when  there  is  no 
necessity.  Be  persuaded  by  me ;  dismiss  this  assembly, 
and  hereafter,  whenever  it  shall  seem  fit  to  you,  hav- 
ing considered  with  yourself,  proclaim  what  appears 
to  you  to  be  most  advantageous." 

The  efiPect  of  this  very  prudent  and  sagacious  ad- 
dress, coming  as  it  did  after  the  stirring  appeal  of 
Mardonious,  angered  Xerxes  at  the  moment,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  he  had  bidden  every  one  present 
to  express  freely  his  opinion,  whatever  it  might  be, 
without  fear.  After  having  rebuked  Artabanus,  how- 
ever, Xerxes  assured  him  that  no  harm  would  come  to 
him  but  only  because  of  the  fact  that  he  was  the  brother 
of  Darius,  would  he  be  protected.  But,  however 
strange  it  may  seem,  the  address  of  Artabanus  wrought 
a  change  in  the  views  of  Xerxes  shortly  after  the  dis- 
solution of  the  assembly,  and  the  Great  King  resolved 
to  abandon  the  expedition,  and  give  up  the  idea  of  ex- 
tending the  borders  of  his  empire  in  the  west.  He  sent 
for  Artabanus  and  acquainted  him  with  his  intentions, 
and  thanked  him  for  the  advice  he  had  given. 


And  now  comes  the  most  remarkable  part  of  the 
story  of  this  fated  expedition  of  Xerxes.  As  we  read 
in  the  book  of  Daniel,  and  elsewhere,  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  concerning  the  manifestations  of  a  super- 
natural power,  through  the  instrumentality  of  dreams 
and  visions,  which  required  the  interposition  of 
diviners  and  soothsayers  and  magicians  and  prophets, 
to  read  and  interpret,  so  we  read  in  the  chronicles 
of  profane  historians  contemporaneous  with  the 
historians  of  the  old  testament  of  similar  dreams  and 
visions. 

Nebuchadnezzar,  as  he  lay  on  his  bed,  had  strange 
visions  full  of  political  significance  as  to  his  kingdom, 
so  did  the  prophet  Daniel.  Belshazzar  saw  the  strange 
vision  and  the  hand  that  wrote  on  the  walls  of  his  pal- 
ace, the  night  that  Cyrus  the  Great,  the  grandfather 
of  Xerxes,  took  Babylon  and  slew  Belshazzar  in  his 
banquet  hall. 

So  Herodotus  records  (vii,  12),  that  Xerxes  saw 
visions  and  dreamed  dreams,  and  had  a  dream  and  vision 
of  his  head  upon  his  bed.  In  his  sleep  a  tall,  handsome 
figure  appeared  before  him,  and  upbraided  him  for 
changing  his  mind  and  abandoning  the  idea  of  sub- 
jugating Greece.  A  second  time  he  saw  the  vision  and 
dreamed  the  dream.  Then  he  became  alarmed,  and 
sent  for  Artabanus,  and  communicated  to  him  what  had 
been  revealed  in  his  dreams.  Xerxes  suggested  that 
Artabanus  should  wear  the  clothes  of  his  sovereign  and 
sleep  in  his  bed,  and  if  the  same  dream  came  to  him  they 
would  take  further  counsel.  Accordingly  this  was  done, 
and  to  Artabanus  came  the  same  dream  that  Xerxes 
had.  A  second  time  the  vision  came,  but  the  appari- 
tion endeavored  to  take  vengeance  on  Artabanus,  and 
threatened  to  burn  out  his  eyes.  Under  these  remark- 
able circumstances,  we  are  told  Xerxes  and  Artabanus 
concluded  that  they  had  been  in  error.  Xerxes  now 
was  fully  determined  to  assemble  and  equip  the  great- 


I 


252 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


BRIDGE    ON    THE    HELLESPONT 


253 


est  armament  the  world  had  ever  seen,  and  lead  it  in 
person  to  Greece. 

He  chose  as  the  place  of  rendezvous  for  his  army, 
Critalla,  in  the  valley  of  the  Halys  in  Cappadocia. 
Critalla  is  about  400  miles  east  of  Sardis  in  the  King- 
dom of  Lydia,  and  nearly  the  same  distance  west  of  the 
Tigris,  on  whose  banks  stood  the  ancient  city  of 
Nineveh.  The  empire  of  Xerxes  embraced  nations  on 
three  continents.  In  Asia,  however,  although  his  do- 
minions extended  beyond  the  Indus,  Critalla  was  much 
nearer  the  geographical  centre  of  his  realm  than  Sardis, 
where  he  was  joined  later  by  contingents  from  Egypt 
and  Libya. 

Critalla  probably  was  chosen  as  a  place  of  rendez- 
vous not  only  because  it  was  convenient  for  troops 
from  all  parts  of  Asia,  but  because  it  was  remote  from 
the  Greek  world  in  Asia  Minor  and  the  Greek  colonists 
in  Ionia,  ^olia  and  Doris  and  the  islands  along  the 
eastern  shores  of  the  ^gean.  These  colonists,  it  is 
true,  were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Persia,  yet  they 
were  kin  to  the  Greeks  of  Hellas,  which  was  the  object- 
ive point  of  Xerxes'  expedition.  At  remote  Critalla, 
therefore,  the  military  operations  of  the  Persians  could 
more  readily  be  concealed  from  Greek  spies  and  in- 
formers, although  at  a  later  period,  when  Greek  spies 
were  apprehended,  Xerxes  showed  them  the  magnitude 
of  his  armament,  set  them  free  and  bade  them  inform 
their  countrymen  that  his  hosts  were  invincible. 

In  the  fall  B.  C.  481,  Xerxes  led  his  mighty  hosts 
from  Critalla.  He  crossed  the  Halys  and  proceeded 
on  his  march  westward  through  Lycaonia  into  Phrygia, 
passing  probably  north  of  Pisidia  into  the  valley  of 
the  Mffiander  to  Celaena?,  a  distance  of  about  175  miles. 
Thence  the  troops  marched  northwest  into  Lydia  to 
Sardis,  the  ancient  capital  of  Croesus,  a  distance  from 
Calaenae  of  about  125  miles,  where  Xerxes  went  into 
winter  quarters.     Sardis  is  but  150  miles  southeast  of 


the  Hellespont  and  aiforded  a  convenient  and  suitable 
place  for  winter  quarters  for  the  army. 

Two  memorable  feats  of  engineering  were  performed 
by  the  engineers  of  Xerxes.  In  anticipation  of  his 
entry  into  Europe,  he  ordered  a  bridge  to  be  thrown 
across  the  Hellespont,  and  directed  that  the  rocky 
promontory  of  Mount  Athos,  where  the  fleet  of  Mar- 
donius  had  perished  eleven  years  before,  be  severed 
from  the  mainland  by  a  canal  cut  across  the  peninsula 
of  Acte.  The  work  must  have  been  begun  soon  after 
Xerxes  came  to  the  throne,  B.  C.  486,  for  we  are  told 
it  consumed  nearly  three  years.  The  canal  was  nearly 
a  mile  and  a  half  long  when  completed,  and  was  wide 
enough  to  accommodate  two  triremes  sailing  abreast. 

The  bridge  on  the  Hellespont,  after  it  had  been  com- 
pleted, was  destroyed  by  gales  and  tempests  and 
Xerxes,  disregarding  every  sense  of  justice,  held  his 
engineers  responsible  for  the  operations  of  nature, 
during  the  seasons  when  storms  are  most  violent. 
Those  who  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  charge  of 
the  bridge  construction  were  promptly  beheaded.  It 
is  said  also  that  Xerxes,  in  a  fit  of  insane  rage,  ordered 
the  Hellespont  to  be  "  scourged."  Other  engineers 
were  selected  and  ordered  to  again  construct  the  bridge. 
The  work  was  accomplished  in  the  spring  B.  C.  481. 
The  termini  of  the  structure  were  at  Abydus  in  Asia, 
and  Sestus  in  Europe  on  the  Thracian  Chersonese  where 
the  strait  is  about  a  mile  wide.  It  rested  on  pente- 
conters  over  which  cables  were  laid  and  secured  to  the 
shore.  Trunks  of  trees  were  laid  on  the  cables  and 
fastened  together.  On  the  logs  was  placed  brushwood 
and  this  was  covered  with  earth,  and  pressed  down  to 
make  a  firm  highway.  Then  on  each  side  a  fence  was 
erected  that  the  beasts  of  burden  and  horses  might  not 
be  frightened  by  looking  down  upon  the  sea. 

When  news  reached  Xerxes  that  the  bridge  was  com- 
pleted, and  the  canal  finished  in  the  rear  of  the  promon- 


254 


MILITAET   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


tory  of  Mount  Athos,  he  at  once  set  out  with  his  hosts, 
which  were  so  numerous  that  it  was  remarked  in  a  gen- 
eral way  that  Xerxes  went  down  out  of  Asia,  and  all 
mankind  with  him,  for  what  nation  did  he  not  lead  out 
of  Asia  against  Greece.  It  was  in  the  spring  B.  C. 
480,  when  the  army  of  Xerxes  passed  out  of  the  gates 
of  Sardis,  marching  northwest  for  the  Hellespont. 
This  is  the  order  in  which  the  troops  wound  their  way 
out  of  the  city  into  the  plain  in  the  valley  of  the  Pac- 
tolus.  The  baggage  bearers  and  beasts  of  burden 
formed  the  head  of  the  column.  Then  came  hosts  made 
up  of  contingents  from  all  nations  promiscuously. 
After  more  than  half  the  army  had  passed,  there  was 
left  a  wide  space  to  separate  the  King's  troops,  at- 
tached to  his  royal  person,  from  the  rest  of  the  army. 
They  were  deployed  in  the  following  order.  First,  there 
were  one  thousand  picked  horsemen  all  of  Persian  blood ; 
then  came  one  thousand  chosen  spearmen,  selected  also 
from  Persians  of  pure  blood,  carrying  lances  turned 
downward  towards  the  earth ;  then  came  the  ten  sacred 
Nisaean  horses  caparisoned  in  gold  and  purple.  The 
sacred  chariot  of  Jupiter  (Ormuzd)  came  next  in  the 
line,  drawn  by  eight  white  horses.  Into  the  seat  of  this 
sacred  car  no  mortal  ever  dare  ascend,  but  the  chari- 
oteer followed  the  horses  on  foot,  holding  the  reins  in 
his  hands.  Immediately  behind  this  was  the  chariot  of 
Xerxes,  sovereign  lord  of  the  Persian  empire  and  leader 
and  commander  of  the  mighty  host.  It  was  drawn  by 
Nis«an  horses.  His  charioteer  stood  by  his  side. 
Xerxes  had  also  a  covered  carriage  close  beside  his 
chariot,  in  which  he  rode  when  he  did  not  occupy  the 
royal  car.  Immediately  behind  the  Great  King  marched 
one  thousand  spearmen,  the  bravest  and  most  noble  of 
the  Persians.  Their  weapons  were  adorned  with  apples 
of  gold.  After  these  came  one  thousand  Persian  horse- 
men; then  came  ten  thousand  Persian  infantry.  Of 
these  one  thousand  surrounded  the  remaining  body  of 


THE   IMMOETALS 


255 


nine  thousand.  Their  spears  were  adorned  with  gold 
pomegranates,  instead  of  ferules,  but  the  nine  thou- 
sand within  had  silver  pomegranates.  Thus  the 
weapons  adorned  with  silver  were  surrounded  by  a 
fringe  of  weapons  adorned  with  gold.  They  carried 
their  spears  turned  to  the  earth,  so  that  their  pome- 
granates of  gold  shone  resplendent  in  the  sun. 

Then  came  the  famous  Immortals  commanded  by 
Hydames.  They  consisted  of  a  body  of  ten  thousand 
cavalry,  select  men  of  Persian  blood.  They  were  called 
Immortals,  because  when  their  ranks  became  depleted 
by  death  or  illness,  their  places  made  vacant  were  im- 
mediately filled  from  among  those  of  Persian  blood,  so 
that  this  chosen  body  of  horsemen  always  numbered 
just  ten  thousand.  They  always  accompanied  the  per- 
son of  the  sovereign,  just  as  the  Old  Guard  always  ac- 
companied the  Emperor  Napoleon,  and  took  their  or- 
ders from  the  Emperor  alone. 

After  the  Immortals  there  was  left  a  space  of  twelve 
hundred  feet,  and  then  the  rest  of  the  army  followed 
promiscuously.  This  was  the  order  and  alignment  of 
the  hosts  of  Xerxes  as  they  defiled  through  the  gates 
of  Sardis  on  their  memorable  march  to  the  Hellespont. 


M  1 

I 


XERXES    AT    MOUNT   IDA 


257 


CHAPTER    XVI 

SECOND  PERSIAN  WAR -MARCH  OF  XERXES  FROM 
ASIA  -  CROSSING  THE   HELLESPONT -REVIEW 
AT  DORISCUS  — COLLOQUY  WITH  DEMA- 

RATUS 

•N  the  previous  chapter  we  have  a  picturesque 
view  of  the  army  of  Xerxes,  as  it  defiled  out 
of  the  gates  of  Sardis  into  the  plain  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Pactolus  and  the  Hermus,  as 
it  began  its  long  and  tedious  march  through 
Asia  Minor,  Thrace  and  Macedonia  into  Thessaly,  and 
thence  south  through  Boeotia  to  Thermopyl®  and  to 
Athens,  the  objective  point  of  the  expedition,  together 
with  a  description  of  the  army,  the  arms  the  troops 
carried,  and  the  order  in  which  they  marched.    It  is  the 
purpose  now  to  follow  the  expedition  to  the  plain  of 
Doriscus  where  the  armament  was  numbered  and  passed 
in  review  under  the  eye  of  Xerxes.    When  the  army  was 
quitting  Sardis,  a  strange  phenomenon  of  nature  oc- 
curred.     The   sun   disappeared   from   the   heavens   in 
broad  day.     Or  as  Herodotus  relates,  "  the  sun  quit- 
ting his  seat  in  the  heavens  disappeared,  though  there 
were  no  clouds,  and  the  air  was  perfectly  serene,  and 
night  ensued  in  the  place  of  day."     (Herod,  vii,  37.) 
The  Magi,  or  diviners  and  astrologers,  were  called  upon 
to  interpret  the  phenomenon,  and  declare  to  the  King 
what  the  prodigy  might  portend.     The  interpretation 
given  was  that  the  sun  was  the  portender  of  the  future 
of  the  Greeks,  and  the  moon  of  the  Persians.     There- 
fore, the  disappearance  of  the  sun  foreshadowed  to  the 

256 


Greeks  the  extinction  of  their  cities.    The  words  of  the 
Magi  removed  from  the  mind  of  Xerxes  his  supersti- 
tious fear,  and  he  renewed  his  march,  delighted  with 
the  interpretation  which  had  been  placed  on  this  phe- 
nomenon which  modern  astronomers  would  call  a  solar 
eclipse.    His  course  was  northwest  from  Sardis,  through 
Lydia  into  Mysia,  thence  north  through  the  valley  of 
the  Pactolus,  across  the  Hermus,  which  is  a  short  dis- 
tance from  Sardis,  and  then  northwest  across  the  Cai- 
cus,  probably  to  Pergamus  in  Mysia.    Thence  across  the 
Mysian   territory   along  the   coast  of  ^olis  through 
Adramyttium  on  the  gulf  of  Adramyttenus,   on  the 
coast  of  Phrygia.     Thence  through  the  city  of  An- 
tandrus  near  Mount  Ida.     Xerxes  was  now  approach- 
ing classic  ground  sacred  to  the  memory  of  Grecian 
heroes  made  immortal  in  the  Iliad.     When  the  Persian 
monarch  halted   for   the  night   under   Mount   Ida,    a 
severe  storm  arose.     The  air  was  surcharged  with  elec- 
tricity.     The  peals   of  thunder  and  sharp   lightning 
flashes  were  terrific.     Many  were  killed  by  lightning. 
Here,  near  the  dominions  of  the  ancient  Priam,  this 
violent  electric  display  might  be  said  to  be  a  precursor 
of  the  fierce  tempests  which  later  wrought  havoc  for 
three  days,  and  destroyed  hundreds  of  the  vessels  of  the 
Persian  fleet  off  the  rocky  coast  of  Eubaa.     Leaving 
Mount  Ida  the  army  crossed  the  Scamander.     This  was 
the  first  stream   since   the   troops   left   Sardis,  whose 
waters  failed  and  did  not  afford  sufficient  drink  for 
the  immense  army  and  beasts  of  burden. 

Doubtless  Xerxes  was  versed  in  the  literature  of  the 
Greeks.  Whether  Homer  had  ever  been  translated  into 
Persian  we  do  not  know,  but  one  of  the  favorites  at  the 
palace  at  Susa  was  Demaratus,  an  exile  from  Sparta, 
who,  before  his  expatriation  had  been  a  Spartan  King. 
He  could,  if  requested,  read  Homer  to  Xerxes,  giving 
him  the  Persian  equivalent.  At  all  events  Xerxes  was 
anxious  to  visit  the  site  of  the  famous  Pergamus,  or 


258 


MILITAKY   ANNALS    OP    GS££C£ 


MISGIVINGS    OF    XEEXES 


259 


citadel  of  Priam,  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  Iliad.  He 
became  enthusiastic  over  the  old  story  of  Troy  and  the 
heroes,  who  for  ten  years  waged  war  on  these  storied 
plains.  He  sacrificed  a  thousand  oxen  to  the  Ilian 
Minerva,  and  caused  the  Magi  to  pour  out  libations 
in  honor  of  the  heroes,  making  no  distinction  as  to  the 
Hellenes,  into  whose  country  he  was  now  about  to  enter. 
When  these  ceremonies  were  over  they  marched  to  Dar- 
danus  on  the  Hellespont.  Thence  the  army  moved  nortli 
to  Abydos,  where  was  erected  the  bridge  which  spanned 
the  waters  from  Asia  to  Europe. 

Before  quitting  the  shores  of  Asia,  Xerxes  wished 
to  look  upon  his  entire  armament,  marshalled  under  his 
eye,  on  land  and  sea.     A  throne  of  white  marble  had 
been  erected  for  his  use  on  an  eminence  on  the  side  of 
a  hill  sloping  down  to  the  Hellespont.    From  this  lofty 
seat  Xerxes  looked  on  his  countless  myriads,  his  millions 
— -all   slaves  —  though   marshalled   on   land   or  upon 
ships,  as  soldiers  or  seamen,  in  his  invading  armament. 
As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  in  either  direction,  the 
plain  and  hillsides  skirting  the  Hellespont  were  covered 
with  masses  of  human  beings,  and  the  sea,  stretching 
southward  into  the  open  Mgesm,  was  covered  with  sliips, 
which  formed  his  great  navy.     Xerxes  desired  to  see 
his  ships  manoeuvre  and  directed  that  a  sham  battle  be 
fought  in  the  Hellespont.     The  Phoenicians,  who  were 
natives  of  Sidon,  were  victorious,  and  received  whatever 
reward  or  prizes  were  conferred  in  recognition  of  their 
superior  skill  and  seamanship.     In  this  connection  it  is 
related  that  Xerxes,  while  expressing  supreme  gratifica- 
tion at  the  grand  display  before  him,  suddenly  burst 
into  tears.     Artabanus,  his  paternal  uncle,  observing 
the  change  in  the  King's  demeanor,  ventured  to  remark 
that  while  a  short  time  before  he  was  happy,  now  he 
was  weeping.     Xerxes  answered  that  it  was  extremely 
sad  to  contemplate  the  brevity  of  human  life.    Looking 
down  upon  the  great  navy,  and  upon  all  the  shore  and 


plains  of  Abydos,  covered  with  men,  he  observed  that 
we  must  remember  that  numerous  as  they  were,  yet 
within  the  limits  of  a  century,  all  will  have  passed  away, 
and  not  one  of  the  vast  hosts  before  him  would  survive 
to  the  hundredth  year;  so  brief,  he  remarked,  is  the 
span  of  human  life.  His  uncle  then  assumed  the  role 
of  a  philosopher  and  suggested  that  very  often  mis- 
fortune and  calamities  make  life  a  burden,  and  from 
these  pains  and  sufferings  the  only  refuge  is  death,  the 
sweet  sleep  which  alone  affords  surcease  from  sorrow, 
which  the  deity  has  kindly  and  graciously  provided, 
because,  said  Artabanus,  the  god  having  given  us  a 
taste  of  sweet  existence,  is  found  to  be  jealous  of  his 

Xerxes,  however,  seemed  to  be  solicitous  as  to  the 
outcome  of  his  expedition,  notwithstanding  he  had  with 
him  the  most  numerous  army  that  had  ever  been  assem- 
bled. He  was  still  desirous  of  knowing  the  true  opinion 
of  Artabanus,  who  had  originally  advised  against  it. 
The  King  asked  him  whether  if  the  vision  of  the  dream 
had  not  appeared  to  him,  would  he  have  retained  his 
first  opinion,  and  sought  to  dissuade  Xerxes  from 
making  war  against  Greece.  The  answer  Artabanus 
gave  was  veiled  and  mysterious.  "  O  King,"  he  said, 
"  may  the  vision  of  the  dream  that  appeared  terminate 
as  we  both  desire,  but  I  am  still  full  of  alarm,  and  not 
master  of  myself,  when  I  consider  many  other  circum- 
stances, and  moreover,  perceive  two  things  of  the  great- 
est importance,  most  hostile  to  you."  He  told  Xerxes 
that  these  two  things  were  (1)  land,  and  (2)  sea.  He 
argued  that  there  was  not  anywhere  any  harbor  large 
enough,  in  case  a  storm  should  arise,  to  shelter  the  navy. 
And  yet  there  was  need,  not  only  of  one  such  harbor, 
but  many,  along  the  continent  about  which  Xerxes 
was  about  to  coast.  Since  there  were  not  harbors  suf- 
ficiently capacious,  he  bade  Xerxes  remember  that  ac- 
cidents rule  men,  not  men  accidents.     As  to  the  land, 


26o 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


he  reminded  Xerxes  that  it  would  be  hostile  to  him,  and 
would  become  more  hostile  the  farther  the  Persians  ad- 
vanced. And  even  if  no  one  were  to  oppose  the  in- 
vaders, yet  the  country  becoming  more  extensive  in 
process  of  time,  they  would  be  menaced  by  famine. 

These  miserable  forebodings  of  Artabanus  were  dis- 
missed by  Xerxes,  who  told  his  uncle  that  success  at- 
tended only  those  who  were  ready  to  act  and  to  hazard 
something.     He  reminded  him  of  the  greatness  of  the 
Persian  empire,  and  observed  that  if  his  predecessors 
had  had  such  counsellors  as  Artabanus,  and  had  fol- 
lowed their  advice,  they  never  would  have  extended  their 
dommions  or  attained  to  such  a  height  of  power  as  he, 
ruling  in   their   stead,   now   possessed.      Great   under- 
takings, he  said,  are  only  accomplished  at  great  haz- 
ards.    He  declared  he  would  emulate  his  ancestors  and, 
after  having  subdued  Europe,  would  return  home  with- 
out having  experienced  famine  or  suffered  any  reverses. 
Artabanus  then  attempted  to  advise  Xerxes  not  to  lead 
his  Ionian  troops  against  their  fathers  in  Attica,  and 
begged  to  remind  his  nephew  that  Cyrus  the  Great  sub- 
dued all  Ionia,  except  the  Athenians.     But  Xerxes  re- 
minded him  that  the  whole  Persian  army  which  Darius 
led   against   the   Scythians   was   in   the   power   of  the 
lonians,  at  the  bridge  over  the  Ister  (Danube),  but  the 
lonians  were  true  and  refused  to  follow  Miltiades,  who 
wished  to  destroy  the  bridge  and  leave  his  father  to 
perish  in  the  Scythian  wilds.     He  had,  therefore,  no 
fear  that  the  lonians  would  desert  his  army.     Xerxes 
then  sent  Artabanus  to  Susa  to  exercise  the  functions 
of  royalty  during  the  absence  of  the  Great  King  "  for 
to  you  alone  of  all  men,"  he  said  to  Artabanus,  "  I  en- 
trust my  sceptre." 

Preparations  were  now  made  to  quit  the  shores  of 
Asia  and  cross  the  Hellespont.  Xerxes  called  in  coun- 
sel the  chief  men  of  his  army,  and  addressed  them  as  to 
the  importance  of  the  expedition  and  the  objects  to  be 


CEOSSING   THE   HELLESPONT 


261 


attained.     He  exhorted  every  man  to  do  his  duty,  say- 
ing that  they  were  marching  against  brave  men,  and  if 
they  conquered,  no  other  army  would  dare  oppose  them. 
That  victory  would  mean  that  the  arms  of  Persia  would 
be  supreme  throughout  the  world.     "  Now  let  us  cross 
over,"  he  said,  "  having  first  offered  up  prayers  to  the 
gods  who  protect  the  Persian  territory."     They  then 
burned  all  sorts  of  perfume  on  the  bridges  (one  for  the 
troops,  the  other  for  the  beasts  of  burden)  and  strewed 
the  roads  with  myrtle  branches.    They  did  no  more  that 
day,  but  waited  till  the  next,  as  they  wished  to  see  the 
sun   rising  and  flooding  the  eastern  heavens  with  its 
golden  glory,  that  the  army  might  bow  in  adoration  to 
the  majestic  god  of  day.     When  the  morning  broke 
and  the  eastern  horizon  showed  the  golden  rim  of  the 
sun,   Xerxes   poured  a  libation  into   the  sea  from  a 
golden  cup,  and  offered  up  a  prayer  to  the  sun,  beseech- 
ing that  no  accident  would  befall  that  would  prevent 
the  subjugation  of  Europe  until  his  empire  was  ex- 
tended to  its  utmost  limits.     When  he  had  finished  his 
prayer,  the  Persian  King  threw  a  golden  bowl  and  a 
Persian  sword,  or  scimitar,  into  the  Hellespont.    When 
these  ceremonies  were  concluded,  the  army  began  its 
memorable  march.     The  infantry  and  cavalry  crossed 
over  the  most  northerly  of  the  two  bridges,  the  one 
towards  the  Propontis.     The  beasts  of  burden  and  at- 
tendants crossed  on  the  most  southerly  bridge,  nearest 
the  open  ^gean.     First  of  all  the  ten  thousand  Per- 
sians led  the  van,  all  wearing  crowns,  and  after  them 
the  conspicuous  host  of  all  nations.     These  crossed  in 
one  day  and  night.     On  the  following  day,  first  the 
horsemen  and  those  who  carried  the  lances  downwards. 
These  also  wore  crowns.     So  the  army  crossed  in  the 
order  in  which  it  departed  through  the  gates  of  Sardis. 
The   time   occupied   in   crossing  was   seven   days   and 
seven  nights  without  halting  at  all.     We  have  observed 
that  the  army  of  Xerxes  was  an  army  of  slaves.    Other- 


262 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


wise  no  power  on  earth  could  have  defeated  it.  It  was 
driven  across  the  bridges  under  the  lash.  Later  it  was 
driven  day  after  day  for  three  days,  into  the  mouth  of 
the  pass  at  Thermopylae  under  the  lash.  What  could 
an  army  of  slaves  accomplish  against  a  handful  of  free- 
men.'* When  we  consider  the  time  occupied  in  crossing 
tlie  bridges  over  the  Hellespont,  we  get  some  idea  of  the 
magnitude  of  this  unprecedented  army.  It  is  little 
wonder  that  when  a  native  of  the  Chersonese  who  wit- 
nessed the  passing  of  the  army  from  Asia  remarked 
that  when  Xerxes  entered  Europe  to  subvert  Greece 
"  he  brought  all  mankind  with  liim." 

The  army  then  proceeded  through  the  Thracian 
Chersonese  around  the  head  of  the  gulf  of  Melas  im- 
mediately west  of  the  shores  of  the  Propontis,  crossed 
the  river  Melas,  which  flows  into  the  gulf  of  the  same 
name,  whose  waters  failed,  being  insufficient  to  furnish 
drink  for  the  multitude  of  men  and  beasts  of  the  army. 
Thence  the  route  lay  westward  to  Doriscus,  a  shore 
and  plain  of  Thrace  through  which  flows  the  Hebrus, 
south  into  the  JEgean  or  Sea  of  Thrace.  The  fleet, 
when  the  army  moved,  was  ordered  to  sail  south  into  the 
JEgean,  and  thence  north  past  the  island  of  Imbros, 
and  thence  along  the  southern  shores  of  Thrace  to 
cape  Sarpedon,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Hebrus,  where 
it  was  to  await  the  coming  of  the  army.  At  Doriscus 
there  was  a  Persian  garrison,  which  had  been  estab- 
lished there  by  Darius  on  the  occasion  when  he  con- 
ducted an  expedition  against  the  Scythians  beyond  the 
Ister  (Danube).  A  strong  fort  also  had  been  built 
there  for  the  accommodation  of  the  garrison,  and  from 
which  to  conduct  military  operations.  This  place 
Xerxes  deemed  convenient  for  reviewing  and  number- 
ing his  army.  Thither  all  the  ships  were  ordered. 
When  they  arrived,  they  were  hauled  up  on  the  beach 
and  repaired.  Xerxes,  accordingly,  numbered  his  army 
at  Doriscus.     The  mode  of  enumeration  which  was  cus- 


FO&CES   OF   XERXES 


263 


tomary  with  the  Persians  was  this,  having  counted  ten 
thousand  men,  they  stationed  them  in  one  place,  and 
then  traced  a  circle  on  the  outside  of  these,  where  they 
stood.  The  men  were  then  withdrawn  and  an  enclosure 
built  on  the  line  so  traced,  to  reach  as  high  as  a  man's 
navel.  Others  then  filled  the  enclosure,  and  then  others, 
continuing  until  all-  the  troops  were  numbered.  The 
infantry  filled  the  enclosure  170  times.  The  troops 
were  then  deployed  on  the  plain  according  to  the  na- 
tions to  which  each  belonged.  The  ships  in  like  manner 
were  drawn  up  near  the  beach  for  review. 

The  numbers  of  this  armament  as  enumerated  and 
recorded  by  tl  King's  scribes,  or  secretaries,  together 
with  the  estimate  of  Herodotus  as  to  the  crews  and  the 
probable  number  of  non-combatants,  is  as  follows: 

Naval  Force 

1207  ships.    Crews  of  200  to  each 241,400 

"        "  30  marines  to  each 36,210 

8,000  Penteconters,  crew  of  80  to  each 240,000 

Total    naval    force 517,610       517,610 

Infantry 
Total  Infantry  of  all  nation 1,700,000 

Cavalry 
Total  Cavalry   .  80,000 

Drivers 
Camel  Drivers  and  Charioteers 20,000 

Total  forces  from  Asia 2317,610 

Forces  from  Europe 

Thrace,  120  ships 24,000 

Levies  from  Thrace  and  other  parts  of  Europe    300,000       324,000 

Total    number    of    combatants,    including 

camel   drivers    and   charioteers 2,641,610 

Non-combatants  including  servants,  concubines 

and  camp  followers,  estimated  at 2,641,610 

Entire  forces  of  Xerxes 5,283,220 


t 


t 


264 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


DRESS    AND    COSTUMES 


26s 


Herodotus  describes  the  wonderful  spectacle  when 
the  entire  heterogeneous  mass  of  humanity,  exclusive 
of  the  non-combatants,  passed  in  review  before  Xerxes, 
representing  forty-six  nations  and  tribes  from  three 
continents.  He  describes  in  detail  the  dress  worn  by 
those  of  each  tribe  and  nation,  and  the  weapons  each 
carried.  Among  these  nations  and  tribes  were  Persia, 
Media,  Hycamia,  Assyria,  Chaldea,  Bactria,  the  Sacae, 
India,  Aria,  Parthia,  Chorasmia,  Sogdia,  Gandaria, 
Dadicae,  the  Caspian,  Sarangae,  Pactyas,  Utia,  Mycia, 
Paricania,  Arabia,  Ethiopia,  Libya,  Paphlagonia, 
Ligyes,  Matienians,  Mariandynians,  Cappadocia,  Phry- 
gia,  Lydia,  Mysia,  Thrace,  Bithynia,  Meionians,  Milyae, 
Moschians,  Tibarenians,  Mares,  Marcones,  Mosynoeci, 
Colchians,  Alarodi  and  the  Saspires. 

Among  the  great  mass  the  most  picturesque  attire 
was  worn  by  those  who  were  clothed  with  skins  of  wild 
beasts.  The  Caspians,  who  dwelt  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Ossa  and  Araxes,  on  the  western  shores  of  the  lower 
Caspian,  near  the  remote  wilds  of  Armenia,  were  clad 
in  goat  skin  mantles  and  carried  scimitars,  and  bows 
made  of  cane  peculiar  to  their  country. 

The  dress  or  costume  worn  by  the  Ethiopians  was 
exceedingly  picturesque.  The  Ethiopians  included 
those  who  dwelt  above  Egypt,  in  Libya  (now  desig- 
nated Abyssinia),  and  those  from  the  sun-rise,  who  were 
marshalled  with  the  Indians,  and  did  not  at  all  differ 
from  the  others  in  appearance,  but  only  in  their  lan- 
guage and  their  hair.  The  eastern  Ethiopians  were 
straight  haired,  but  the  hair  or  wool  of  those  of  Libya 
was  more  curly  than  that  of  any  other  people.  In 
addition  to  the  Ethiopians,  who  dwelt  in  the  country 
above  Egypt  (now  known  as  Abyssinia),  there  were 
also  Libyans  from  the  northern  coast  of  Africa,  west 
of  Egypt,  extending  to  Cyrene,  which  was  the  extreme 
western  boundary  of  the  dominions  of  Xerxes.  All  the 
region  south  and  west  of  Egypt  as  far  as  Cyrene  was 


then  designated  Libya.  But  the  inhabitants  of  the  land 
in  the  south  were  called  Ethiopians.  Those  along  the 
southern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  were  called 
Libyans.  The  name  Ethiopian  was  also  given,  as  has 
been  observed,  to  those  inhabitants  of  Asia,  who  dwelt 
in  the  country  west  of  India  and  the  Indus  and  east  of 
the  Persian  gulf,  bordering  on  the  Erythraean  sea  (In- 
dian Ocean). 

The   Ethiopians    who    dwelt    south    of   Egypt   were 
clothed  in  panthers'  and  lions'  skins,  and  carried  long 
bows,  not  less  than  four  cubits  in  length,  made  from 
the  branches  of  the  palm-tree,  on  which  they  placed 
short  arrows  of  cane,  tipped  with  a  stone,  which  was 
made  sharp,  and  of  the  sort  on  which  they  engrave 
seals.    They  also  carried  javelins  tipped  with  antelopes' 
horn,   made   sharp   like   a   lance.      They   carried   also 
knotted  clubs.     When  they  go  into  battle  they  adorn 
themselves  with  war-paint,  smearing  one-half  the  body 
with  chalk  and  the  other  half  with  red  ochre.     The 
Ethiopians  from  Asia,  we  are  told,  were  accoutred  al- 
most like  the  Indians,  except  that  they  wore  on  their 
heads  skins  of  horses'  heads  as  masks,  stripped  off  with 
the  ears  and  mane,  the  ears  were  made  to  stand  erect, 
while  the  mane  served  as  a  crest.     As  defensive  armor 
they  used  the  skins  of  cranes  instead  of  shields.^     It 
will  be  observed  that  the  latter  wore  garments  made  of 
cotton  cloth,  and  carried  bows  of  cane,  and  arrows  of 
cane  tipped  with  iron. 

The  skins  of  wild  beasts  were  also  worn  by  the 
Bithynians  and  Thracians.  These  people  originally 
inhabited  that  part  of  Thrace  off  which  is  the  island 
of  Thasos,  and  through  which  flowed  the  Strymon. 
Before  the  time  of  Xerxes  these  people  migrated  into 
Asia,  to  the  country  known  as  Bithynia,  east  of  the 
Propontis  and  south  of  the  Euxine,  and  for  that  reason 


» Herod.  vU,  70. 


Hf' 


ii 


266 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


NAVY   OF   XEEXES 


267 


were  called  Bithjnians.  On  their  heads  they  wore  fox- 
skins,  and  tunics  around  their  body.  Over  the  tunics 
they  wore  various  colored  cloaks.  On  their  feet  and 
legs  they  had  buskins  of  fawn  skin.  They  carried 
javelins,  light  bucklers,  and  small  daggers. 

Another  very  picturesque  dress  was  worn  by  troops 
who  dwelt  in  a  country,  the  name  of  which  is  lost  for- 
ever to  posterity,  by  reason  of  the  fact  of  a  hiatus  in 
the  manuscript  of  Herodotus.^  Only  one  word  is  miss- 
ing, but  that  word  was  the  name  of  the  nation.  With 
this  exception  the  text  is  perfect.  Wesseling,  however, 
a  distinguished  scholar,  believes  that  the  name  of  the 
people  here  referred  to  was  the  Chalybians,  who  were 
in  fact  Scythians,  and  this  view  has  been  adopted  by 
later  scholars.  These  people  had  small  shields  made  of 
raw  hides,  and  each  carried  two  javelins  used  for  hunt- 
ing wolves,  and  on  their  heads  brazen  helmets ;  in  addi- 
tion to  the  helmets  they  wore  the  ears  and  horns  of  an 
ox  in  brass.  Over  these  were  crests.  As  to  their  legs, 
they  were  wrapped  in  pieces  of  purple  cloth.  Among 
these  people  there  is  an  oracle  of  Mars. 

Among  this  mighty  host  the  Persians  displayed  the 
greatest  splendor,  and  were  conspicuous  for  their  great 
profusion  of  gold.  They  brought  with  them  also  cov- 
ered chariots,  and  concubines  in  them,  and  a  numerous 
and  well-equipped  train  of  attendants.  The  harems  of 
these  oriental  Sybarites  with  their  attendants  and 
eunuchs  were  transported  with  the  mighty  stream  of 
humanity  on  this  wonderful  expedition  of  Xerxes 
against  Greece.  Camels  and  other  beasts  of  burden 
transported  provisions  for  the  special  use  of  those  of 
pure  Persian  blood. 

Of  cavalry  80,000  accompanied  the  expedition,  be- 
sides camels  and  chariots.  These  mounted  men  were 
furnished  by   the   following   nations,   Persia   and  the 


>  Herod,  vii,  76. 


Pactyans.  The  Medes  and  Cissians,  Indians,  Bactrlans, 
Caspians,  Libyans,  the  Caspirii,  the  Paricanii,  and  the 
Arabians.  The  cavalry  commanders  were  Armamithres 
and  Tithaeus,  sons  of  Datis. 

The  navy  consisted  of  1,207  ships,  collected  from 
the  chief  maritime  ports  of  the  Persian  empire.  Those 
who  contributed  the  naval  armament  are  as  follows : 

Phoenicians  and  Syrians  of  Palestine Ships  contributed  300 

«  200 


Egyptians    

Cyprus,  including  those  from  Salamis 

and  Athens     

Arcadia    

Cythnus     

Phoenicia  and  Ethiopia 

Cilicians    

Pamphylians    

Lycians     

Dorians  (of  Asia)   

Carians    

lonians    

The  Islanders   

iEolians   

Hellespontines    (except  Abydos) 


(( 


t< 


« 

M 
(( 
ii 
it 
I( 
U 


« 
M 
«( 
M 

a 
w 
u 
a 


150 


100 
30 
50 
30 
70 

100 
17 
60 

100 


Total  Navy ' 1»207 

Herodotus  must  have  seen  the  roster  of  this  army, 
not  only  because  of  his  minute  and  detailed  descrip- 
tion of  the  troops  of  the  various  countries,  tribes  and 
nations  respectively,  and  the  weapons  they  carried,  but 
because  he  is  also  able  to  give  the  names  of  the  respect- 
ive commanders  assigned  to  the  men  from  each  nation, 
tribe  and  country,  and  the  names  of  their  fathers  also. 
After  naming  the  country  and  describing  the  dress  and 
accoutrements  of  its  troops,  he  tells  who  commanded 
them.  For  example,  referring  to  the  troops  from  Lydia 
and  Mysia,  after  describing  their  dress  and  accoutre- 
ments, he  says :  "  Artaphemes,  son  of  the  Artaphernes, 
who   was   with   Datis    at   Marathon,    commanded   the 


.HI* 

Ik 

Ik 


268 


MILITARY   ANNALS    01"    GREECE 


Lydians  and  Mysians."  ^  In  like  manner  he  calls  the 
roll  of  nation  after  nation.  Hystaspes,  he  says,  son  of 
Darius  and  Atossa,  daughter  of  Cyrus,  commanded  the 
Bactrians  and  Sacae.  The  Arabians  and  Ethiopians, 
who  dwell  above  Egypt,  were  commanded  by  Arsames, 
son  of  Darius  and  Artystone,  daughter  of  Cyrus,  whom 
Darius  loved  more  than  all  his  wives,  and  whose  image 
he  had  made  of  beaten  gold.  Sisamnes,  son  of  Hy- 
dames,  commanded  the  Arians.  Bassaces,  son  of  Arta- 
banus,  commanded  the  Thracians  of  Asia.  And  so  on 
through  the  list,  Herodotus  calls  the  roll  of  the  com- 
manders of  the  army  of  Xerxes,  no  doubt  as  it  ap- 
peared on  the  muster-roll  prepared  at  Doriscus  with 
so  much  care  by  the  scribes  and  secretaries  of  the  Great 
King. 

The  details  are  important  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
some  very  able  and  distinguished  modem  writers  have 
expressed  grave  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  the 
numbers  of  the  Persian  army  as  recorded  by  Herodotus. 
Some  deny  his  statements  dogmatically,  and  others  have 
declared  that  no  muster-roll  of  the  army  ever  existed. 
A  careful  analysis  of  all  the  facts,  as  evidenced  by  the 
record  of  Herodotus,  is  sufficient  to  sustain  the  integ- 
rity of  his  narrative,  and  to  justify  the  conclusion  that 
his  estimate  of  the  numerical  strength  of  the  army  of 
Xerxes,  and  of  the  number  of  people  he  led  into  Greece, 
at  least  as  to  the  fighting  men  as  distinguished  from 
the  non-combatants,  is  correct. 

Mr.  Rawlinson  assumes  that  the  only  mode  in  which 
the  infantry  were  numbered  was  by  having  them  enter 
and  leave  an  enclosure  which  held  10,000  men,  until  all 
were  numbered,  and  that  this  method  of  enumeration 
was  rather  crude,  and  wholly  unreliable.  From  the 
fact,  however,  that  commanders  were  appointed  over 
bodies  of  thousands  and  of  ten  thousands,  also  over 

*  Herod,  vii,  74. 


NAMES    OF    PERSIAN    COMMANDERS 


269 


hundreds  and  over  tens,  this  conclusion  is  scarcely  jus- 
tified. These  criticisms,  as  to  the  accuracy  of  Herodo- 
tus, will  be  discussed  in  the  following  chapter. 

The  commanders  of  the  troops  of  the  various  tribes 
and  countries,  above  referred  to,  we  are  told,  set  the 
army  in  order  "  and  numbered  them,  and  appointed 
commanders  of  thousands,  and  of  ten  thousands.  But 
the  commanders  of  ten  thousands  appointed  the  cap- 
tains of  hundreds,  and  captains  of  tens."  (Herod,  vii, 
81.)  We  are  also  told  the  names  of  the  commanders-in- 
chief  of  the  whole  army.  Those  who  commanded  the 
land  forces  were  Mardonius,  Tritantaechmes,  Smerdom- 
enes  (both  brothers  of  Darius  and  cousins  of  Xerxes), 
Masistes,  Gergis  and  Megabyzus.  These  were  the  gen- 
erals of  the  whole  land  force  except  the  "  Immortals," 
who  were  commanded  by  Hydarnes.  Here  we  have  a 
perfectly  clear  and  detailed  account  first  of  the  names 
of  the  subaltern  generals,  then  of  the  generals  of  supe- 
rior rank,  commanding  the  entire  land  force,  those  who 
numbered  the  army  and  assigned  the  commanders  over 
regiments  and  brigades  or  divisions  or  bodies  of  thou- 
sands, and  bodies  of  ten  thousands.  We  have  the  fact 
also  that  in  the  organizations  of  the  forces,  the  regi- 
ments of  one  thousand  were  divided  into  companies  of 
one  hundred,  and  the  latter  into  squads  of  tens. 

These  details  of  the  organization  of  the  Persian 
army  are  here  given,  with  a  view  of  showing  that  there 
seems  to  be  no  merit  in  the  criticism  of  some  modem 
scholars  who  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  statements  of 
Herodotus  on  this  point,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  they  give  no  arguments  and  rely  solely  on  dogmatic 
assertion. 

After  his  army  had  been  numbered,  Xerxes  desired  to 
inspect  it.  It  was  deployed  on  the  plain  of  Doriscus 
extending  for  miles.  Xerxes  then  drove  in  a  chariot 
accompanied  by  his  scribes  or  secretaries,  and  personally 
inspected  his  vast  host  by  nations.     As  he  passed  the 


270 


MIUTAKY   ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


COLLOQUY    WITH    DEMAEATUS 


271 


various  troops  he  made  inquiries,  and  the  answers  which 
he  received  to  all  questions,  his  secretaries  wrote  down 
so  that  a  record  was  kept  of  the  information  Xerxes 
received.  Thus  the  Great  King  personally  inspected 
his  entire  army  both  horse  and  foot.  The  navy  was 
reviewed  also.  The  ships  were  drawn  out  a  short  dis- 
tance, then  their  prows  were  turned  towards  the  land, 
leaving  a  sufficient  space  for  the  galley  of  Xerxes  to 
sail  between  the  beach  and  the  prows  of  the  entire  line 
of  vessels.  The  crews  were  armed  as  if  for  battle. 
Then  Xerxes  boarded  a  Sidonian  ship  and  sat  under  a 
gilded  canopy.  He  sailed  in  front  of  the  prow  of  each 
vessel,  asking  questions  as  he  had  done  while  inspect- 
ing the  army.  All  answers  were  written  down,  so  that 
a  careful  record  was  made  of  the  information  re- 
ceived. 

After  the  review  and  inspection  of  the  available 
forces  of  the  Great  King,  Herodotus  gives  us  a  verba- 
tim report  of  the  remarkable  conversation  Xerxes  had 
with  Demaratus,  a  former  King  of  Sparta,  who  fled 
from  his  native  city  and  took  refuge  in  the  Court  of 
Darius.  Indeed,  Xerxes  was  under  a  debt  of  gratitude 
to  Demaratus,  who  was  largely  instrumental  in  secur- 
ing the  decision  of  Darius,  naming  Xerxes  as  his  suc- 
cessor. When  the  former  was  about  to  lead  an  army 
into  Egypt  to  suppress  the  revolt  there,  he  was  obliged 
before  leaving  his  capital  to  designate  his  successor. 
He  had  children  who  were  born  before  he  ascended  the 
throne,  and  the  children  who  were  bom  after  that  event. 
It  was  upon  the  suggestion  of  Demaratus  among  others 
that  Darius  named  Xerxes  as  his  successor,  because  he 
was  the  first  male  child  born  to  him,  after  he  became 
king.  Xerxes,  therefore,  held  Demaratus  in  the  high- 
est esteem,  and  consulted  him  freely  as  to  the  habits  and 
customs  and  the  military  prowess  of  his  countrymen. 
After  all  it  was  not  strange  that  he  should  consult  him, 
when  he  remembered  how  many  brave  men  of  noble 


blood  his  father  lost  at  Marathon,  and  how  his  father's 
army,  which  outnumbered  the  Greeks  ten  to  one,  suf- 
fered overwhelming  defeat  at  the  hands  of  this  small 
number  of  Hellenes,  all  of  them  Athenians,  except  the 
one  thousand  men  from  Plataea.  When  he  recalled  also 
the  dismal  forebodings  of  his  uncle,  Artabanus,  and  the 
advice  he  had  given  him,  Xerxes  sent  for  Demaratus 
and  asked  him  whether  in  his  opinion  the  Grecians  would 
venture  to  lift  their  hands  against  him,  "  for  as  I 
think,"  said  Xerxes,  "  if  all  the  Grecians,  and  all  the 
rest  of  the  nations  that  dwell  towards  the  west,  were 
collected  together,  they  would  not  be  able  to  withstand 
my  attack,  unless  they  were  united  together.  However, 
I  am  desirous  to  know  what  you  say  on  this  subject." 
Demaratus  asked  whether  he  could  speak  the  truth,  or 
speak  only  what  was  pleasing  to  the  King.  But  he  was 
admonished  to  speak  only  the  truth.  This  is  the  re- 
markable answer  he  gave : 

"  Poverty  has  ever  been  familiar  to  Greece,  but  vir- 
tue has  been  acquired,  having  been  accomplished  by  wis- 
dom and  firm  laws;  by  the  aid  of  which  Greece  has 
warded  off  poverty  and  tyranny.  I  commend,  indeed, 
all  the  Greeks  who  dwell  round  those  Doric  lands ;  but 
I  shall  now  proceed  to  speak  not  of  all,  but  of  the  Lace- 
daemonians only.  In  the  first  place,  I  say  it  is  not  pos- 
sible that  they  should  ever  listen  to  your  proposals, 
which  bring  slavery  on  Greece.  Secondly,  that  they 
will  meet  you  in  battle,  even  if  all  the  rest  of  the  Greeks 
should  side  with  you.  With  respect  to  their  number, 
you  need  not  ask  how  many  they  are,  that  they  are  able 
to  do  this,  for  whether  a  thousand  men  or  more  or  even 
less  should  have  marched  out,  they  will  certainly  give 
you  battle." 

Xerxes  deemed  the  statement  of  Demaratus  incred- 
ible, that  a  thousand  men  would  think  of  giving  battle 
to  the  tremendous  host  he  was  leading  against  them. 
He  then  tried  to  have  the  Spartan  verify  his  answer, 


1 

it 


v' 


272 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


as  to  the  courage  of  his  countrymen,  by  asking  if  De- 
maratus,  being  a  Spartan,  was  willing  on  the  spot  to 
fight  single-handed  with  ten  men,  reminding  him  that 
if  aU  his  citizens  were  as  Demaratus  represented  them, 
he  being  their  King,  ought  by  the  institutions  of  his 
country  to  be  matched  against  twice  that  number,  be- 
cause if  each  of  his  former  subjects  was  a  match  for 
ten  men,  he  ought  to  be  a  match  for  twenty,  if  his  boast 
were  correct.  "Let  us  consider  every  probability," 
said  Xerxes.  "  How  could  a  thousand  men,  or  even 
ten  thousand,  or  even  fifty  thousand,  being  all  equally 
free,  and  not  subject  to  the  command  of  a  single  per- 
son, resist  such  an  army  as  this?  For  if  they  are  five 
thousand,  we  are  more  than  a  thousand  against  one. 
Were  they,  indeed,  according  to  our  custom,  subject 
to  the  command  of  a  single  person,  they  might,  through 
fear  of  him,  prove  superior  to  their  natural  courage, 
and  compelled  by  the  lash,  might,  though  fewer,  at- 
tract a  greater  number;  but  now  being  left  to  their 
own  free  will,  they  wiU  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  And 
I  am  of  opinion  that  even  if  they  were  equal  in  numbers, 
the  Grecians  would  hardly  contend  with  the  Persians 
alone.  For  there  are  Persians  among  my  body-guards, 
who  would  readily  encounter  three  Greeks  at  once."  ^ 

Demaratus  answered  that  he  did  not  pretend  to  be 
able  to  fight  with  ten  men,  nor  with  two,  and  would  not 
willingly  fight  with  one,  but  in  case  of  necessity  would 
most  willingly  fight  with  one  of  those  men  who  pre- 
tended to  be  singly  a  match  for  three  Greeks.  That 
in  single  combat  the  Lacedaemonians  were  inferior  to 
none ;  but  together  are  the  bravest  of  all  men.  For 
though  free,  their  freedom  was  not  absolute,  as  they 
had  a  master  over  them,  the  law.  They  do  whatever  it 
enjoins  "  and  it  ever  enjoins  the  same  thing,"  said 
Demaratus,  "  forbidding  them  to  fiy  from  battle  before 

»  Herod,  vii,  103, 


SPARtANS    CONQUER   OR   DlE 


m 


any  number  of  men,  but  to  remain  in  their  ranks,  and 
conquer  or  die." 

This  is  the  remarkable  colloquy  between  the  Persian 
and  Spartan  with  respect  to  the  valor  of  the  Greeks. 
The  statements  of  Demaratus,  however,  were  ridiculed 
by  Xerxes,  though  he  evinced  no  anger  towards  his 
guest,  but  treated  him  with  marked  kindness,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  he  entirely  discredited  his 
opinions. 

In  view  of  the  doubt  which  has  been  cast  upon  the 
accuracy  of  the  narrative  of  Herodotus  with  respect 
to  the  numerical  strength  of  the  army  of  Xerxes  by 
prominent  critics,  it  will  be  necessary  in  the  following 
chapter  to  examine  the  views  entertained  by  some  of 
them  on  this  point. 


\ 


CHAPTER    XVII 

SECOND  PERSIAN  WAR  — NUMERICAL  STRENGTH  OF 
THE  ARMY  OF  XERXES  — HERODOTUS  AND 

HIS  CRITICS 

HERE  is  nothing  more  fascinating  in  the 
military  annals  of  Greece  than  the  last  at- 
tempt of  Persia  to  conquer  Hellas,  and  extend 
her  dominions  to  the  gates  of  Hercules.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  incidents  connected 
with  this  attempt  involves  the  inquiry  as  the  numerical 
strength  of  the  army  of  Xerxes,  which,  prior  to  the 
Austro-Servian  War  of  1914,  was  universally  con- 
ceded to  have  been  the  most  stupendous  military  force 
ever  assembled.  This  question  has  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  many  scholars  and  historians,  and  consid- 
erable controversy  has  arisen  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the 
account  furnished  by  Herodotus,  who  has  placed  the 
number  of  combatants  at  2,641,000  and  estimates  that 
the  number  of  non-combatants  was  at  least  equal  to  that 
of  the  fighting  men,  thus  making  the  grand  total  of  the 
force  of  Xerxes  5,282,000.  These  figures  at  first  blush 
seem  to  be  incredible  and  not  worthy  of  belief,  because 
such  a  multitude  in  an  army  was  never  before  heard  of, 
and  seems  altogether  contrary  to  human  experience. 
In  this  connection,  we  might  suggest  that  it  is  estimated 
that  Moses  led  3,000,000  Hebrew  slaves  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt.  This  surmise  alone,  however,  is  not  sufficient 
to  overthrow  the  narrative  of  Herodotus  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  it  contains  internal  evidence  that  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  his  work,  he  must  have  had  access  to  official 

274 


1 


EVIDENCE   OF    EYE-WITNESSES 


27S 


data   and   authentic   written   documents,   prepared   at 
Doriscus,  under  the  eye  of  Xerxes  himself. 

There  are  evidences  also  which  will  be  referred  to 
presently  to  indicate  that  the  narrative  of  Herodotus 
on  this  particular  subject  is  absolutely  correct,  at  least 
as  to  the  fighting  men,  and  that  as  to  the  number  of 
non-combatants  there  is  such  a  strong  probability  as  to 
his  accuracy  as  to  throw  the  burden  of  proof  upon 
those  who  assail  his  credibility.  It  is  our  purpose  now 
to  examine  some  of  the  arguments  which  have  been  ad- 
vanced by  scholars  and  learned  men  who  refuse  to 
credit  the  accuracy  of  Herodotus  on  this  point.  The 
examination  is  especially  important  in  this  skeptical 
age,  in  which  the  fad  seems  to  be  to  break  down 
the  records  of  the  past  simply  for  effect  and  with  a 
view  to  attracting  public  attention.  Of  course,  the 
truth  is  desirable  at  all  times,  but  the  iconoclast  must 
base  his  discoveries  on  authentic  and  reliable  evidence, 
rather  than  on  mere  dogmatic  assertion. 

The  first  consideration  which  presents  itself  is  as  to 
the  witnesses  competent  to  speak  on  the  subject.  It 
would  seem  that  if  we  exclude  Ctesias  these  are  con- 
fined to  JEschylus  and  Herodotus  himself.  It  is  true 
that  the  latter  was  but  four  years  of  age  when  the  Per- 
sian troops  were  reviewed  at  Doriscus,  but  we  may  as- 
sume that  he  knew  ^Eschylus  well  for  he  lived  until 
Herodotus  attained  the  age  of  twenty-eight.  The  lat- 
ter doubtless  frequently  conversed  with  the  soldier-poet, 
who  was  present  at  Marathon  and  Artemisium  at  Sala- 
mis  and  Plata?a,  and  probably  received  from  him  much 
information  which  he  incorporated  in  his  history.  Both 
were  literary  men,  both  were  deeply  interested  in  the 
subject  of  the  Persian  invasion,  ^schylus  must  have 
talked  with  Persians,  taken  in  battle.  From  these  eye- 
witnesses who  saw  the  review  at  Doriscus  and  were 
familiar  with  the  incidents  which  occurred  on  the  march 
through  Asia  Minor,  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  he  learned 


276 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


much  which  he  used  In  his  plays,  many  of  which  have 
perished.  Posterity,  however,  may  still  read  his  great 
tragic  drama,  "  The  Persians,"  in  which  he  describes 
the  battle  of  Salamis.  In  view  of  this  fact,  it  may  be 
said  that  ^schylus,  who  was  himself  a  living  witness 
of  the  events  discussed,  was  also  a  contemporaneous 
writer,  because  in  "  The  Persians  "  he  puts  in  the  mouth 
of  the  herald  or  messenger,  who  hastened  from  the  scene 
of  battle,  to  communicate  the  tale  of  disaster  and  defeat 
to  the  palace  at  Susa,  to  Atossa,  daughter  of  Cyrus 
the  Great,  sister  of  Cambyses,  widow  of  Darius  and 
mother  of  Xerxes.  iEschylus  is  an  authority  for  He- 
rodotus as  to  the  number  of  ships  commanded  by  the 
Persians,  which  he  states  were  1,207. 

The  only  other  writer  within  the  limits  of  reasonable 
propinquity  was  Ctesias.  He  was  a  physician,  born  at 
Cnidus  in  Caria,  Asia  Minor,  and  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Persians,  B.  C.  415,  and  spent  seventeen  years 
at  the  Persian  Court,  where  he  acted  as  private  physi- 
cian to  Artaxerxes.  He  accompanied  him  in  his  expe- 
dition against  his  younger  brother  Cyrus,  and  was 
present  at  the  battle  of  Cunaxa,  B.  C.  401,  where  the 
latter  was  killed.  He  wrote  a  history  of  Persia,  nearly 
a  century  after  the  battle  of  Salamis.  Only  fragments 
of  his  work  remain.  He  had  access  to  Persian  archives 
and  derived  his  materials  largely  from  Persian  sources. 
His  chief  object  was  to  discredit  Herodotus,  in  order 
to  please  his  benefactors.  His  writings  contain  noth- 
ing which  might  cast  discredit  on  the  memory  of 
Xerxes,  the  father  of  his  illustrious  patient.  His  tastes 
and  inclinations  were  Persian.  He  entertained  no  sym- 
pathy with  his  kinsmen  in  Greece,  or  with  the  loyal 
Greeks  in  Asia  Minor.  As  an  authority,  therefore,  his 
history  is  worthless.  Ctesias  places  the  number  of  the 
army  of  Xerxes  at  800,000  and  his  navy  at  1,000  ships. 
He  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  a  contemporaneous  his- 
torian.   Diodorus,  a  Greek  historian  of  antiquity,  Mli- 


MUSTEE-EOLL    OF    PEESIAN   AEMY 


277 


anus  or  -^lian,  who  flourished  about  A.  D.  180,  who 
also  wrote  Greek,  and  the  late  Professor  Curtius,  in  his 
very  able  and  interesting  history  of  Greece,  have  for 
some  reason  adopted  the  figures  of  Ctesias.  The  lat- 
ter, however,  makes  no  comment  or  criticism  as  to  the 
accuracy  of  the  narrative  of  Herodotus  on  this  point. 
We  have  also  the  judgment  of  Professor  Rawlinson, 
one  of  the  greatest  scholars  of  his  time,  who  declares 
that  the  work  of  Ctesias  is  wholly  unreliable  and  un- 
worthy of  credit.  These  reasons  justify  the  assertion, 
therefore,  that  Herodotus  and  iEschylus  are  the  only 
reliable  witnesses  and  contemporaneous  authorities 
whose  writings  have  come  down  to  us. 

What  data,  then,  did  Herodotus  have  for  his  narra- 
tive, and  on  what  sort  of  evidence  was  it  based?  Did 
he  have  documentary  evidence  before  him  when  he 
wrote,  or  was  his  authority  oral  information  obtained 
from  extended  talks  and  desultory  conversation  with 
eye-witnesses?  The  crucial  point  in  this  connection  is 
as  to  whether  there  was  an  official  muster-roll  of  the 
Persian  army  prepared  at  Doriscus,  and  if  so,  did 
Herodotus  have  access  to  it,  or  to  a  copy  of  it. 

This  question  has  been  discussed  by  Mr.  Grote  and 
Professor  Rawlinson,  men  distinguished  for  their  ability 
and  learning.  The  former  is  the  author  of  the  most 
exhaustive  and  scholarly  history  of  Greece  yet  written. 
The  latter  renowned  for  his  scholarship  and  proficiency 
in  ancient  history,  and  his  historical  works  in  which  is 
portrayed  the  career  of  the  empires  of  early  antiquity. 
These  two  eminent  men  disagree  upon  the  crucial  point 
involved  in  the  inquiry;  namely,  as  to  whether  there 
was  a  written  document,  or  official  muster-roll  of  the 
army  of  Xerxes.  The  correct  answer  to  this  inquiry 
ought  to  be  sufficient  to  settle  the  question,  because  if  no 
such  documentary  evidence  existed,  as  Mr.  Grote  is  in- 
clined to  believe,  the  narrative  of  Herodotus  must  have 
been  based  on  information  received  from  eye-witnesses, 


2;8 


MILITABY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


DOCUMENTARY   EVIDENCE   ESSENTIAL 


279 


collected  and  digested  in  the  form  of  the  narrative  writ- 
ten by  him,  and  as  we  have  it  to-day.  Such  evidence, 
which  is  not  derived  from  written  sources,  must  be  con- 
sidered in  connection  with  the  frailties  and  infirmities 
of  human  memory.  Mr.  Rawlinson,  however,  contends 
that  the  narrative  as  we  have  it,  with  its  minute  details, 
which  includes  not  only  the  names  of  the  generals  and 
commanders  of  the  great  armament,  but  the  names  of 
their  fathers  also,  could  not  possibly  have  been  compiled 
without  access  to  written  documents  and  must,  of  neces- 
sity, have  been  prepared  after  a  careful  study  of 
official  records,  or  copies,  to  which  the  writer  had  access. 
If  Mr.  Rawlinson  is  correct  as  to  the  existence  of  docu- 
mentary evidence,  as  the  basis  of  the  narrative  of  He- 
rodotus, some  of  his  conclusions  as  to  the  accuracy  of 
the  numerical  strength  of  the  Persian  army  can  not 
well  be  justified.  If  Herodotus  had  access  to  the  of- 
ficial muster-roll  of  the  army,  or  to  a  transcript  taken 
from  the  original,  then  at  least  as  to  the  number  of 
fighting  men,  as  distinguished  from  the  number  of  non- 
combatants,  his  narrative  bears  conclusive  evidence  of 
its  accuracy.  The  observations  of  these  eminent  latter 
day  historians  are  interesting. 

On  the  point  that  the  account  of  Herodotus  was 
based  on  documentary  evidence,  Mr.  Rawlinson  rests 
his  conclusions  (1)  on  the  minuteness  of  the  details 
comprising  a  description  of  the  dress  and  armor  of 
forty-six  nations;  (2)  the  mode  in  which  he  tells  us 
the  army  was  marshalled,  whether  separately  or  in  com- 
bination with  others;  (3)  the  names  given  of  the  com- 
manders and  other  generals,  including  thirty-nine  ad- 
mirals, with  the  names  of  their  fathers  also.  These 
convincing  details,  Mr.  Rawlinson  declares,  furnish 
positive  proof  "  that  the  foundation  of  the  whole  is  not 
desultory  inquiry,  but  a  document." 

The  preponderance  of  evidence  on  this  important 
point  clearly  supports  his  views.     The  minute  details 


as  to  the  organization  of  that  vast  armament  show 
conclusively,  if  they  show  anything,  not  only  that  a 
careful,  accurate  and  complete  muster-roll  was  pre- 
pared by  the  secretaries  and  scribes  of  Xerxes,  but  that 
Herodotus  must  have  had  access  to  it  at  the  time  he 
wrote  his  history.  Otherwise  it  would  have  been  abso- 
lutely impossible  for  him,  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  after  the  event,  to  have  written  his  remarkable 
and  detailed  account  of  the  Persian  armament,  and  to 
have  described  it  as  it  was  marshalled  on  the  plain  of 
Doriscus.  There  is  nothing  in  historical  literature, 
which  has  since  been  written,  that  surpasses  it  in  clear- 
ness and  detail.  We  can  now,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly 
twenty-three  centuries,  call  the  roll  of  the  chief  officers 
of  the  Persian  army,  that  marched  with  Xerxes  into 
Europe  to  enslave  Greece. 

Notwithstanding  this  clear  and  convincing  narrative, 
Mr.  Cox,  in  his  very  clever  short  history  of  Greece, 
says :  "  There  is,  however,  no  solid  foundation  for  the 
belief  that  Herodotus,  in  drawing  up  his  narrative,  had 
before  him  the  official  muster-rolls  of  the  Persian  army. 
We  have  no  sufficient  ground  for  thinking  that  such 
muster-rolls  ever  existed,  or  that,  if  they  existed,  they 
were  left  in  any  place  where  they  would  become  accessi- 
ble to  the  historian." 

The  solid  foundation  for  the  belief  that  such  a  mus- 
ter-roll existed,  and  that  Herodotus  had  access  to  it,  is 
obvious  from  the  fact  that  in  the  absence  of  docu- 
mentary evidence,  it  would  have  been  an  impossibility 
for  Herodotus  or  any  one  else,  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  century  after  the  review  of  that  army,  to  have  called 
the  roll  of  its  principal  commanders,  and  given  a  per- 
fect and  accurate  description  of  the  entire  armament 
as  it  appeared  at  Doriscus  B.  C.  480.  The  memory 
of  the  bard  and  the  poet  in  the  ages  of  antiquity  was 
wonderful,  it  is  true,  but  we  have  no  record  of  any 
great  poem  containing  the  details  of  the  numbers  of 


I 


28o 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    6£££C£ 


I 


the  Persian  army,  or  the  data  from  which  such  numbers 
could  have  been  compiled.  True,  ^schylus,  shortly 
after  the  battle  of  Salamis,  wrote  his  great  tragic 
drama,  "  The  Persians."  But  his  work  contains  no 
sufficient  data  upon  which  to  construct  the  detailed 
narrative  of  Herodotus.  As  has  been  observed, 
iEschylus  was  a  contemporary  of  Herodotus,  and  the 
latter  doubtless  consulted  him,  and  received  perhaps 
interesting  material  which  he  used,  because  ^schylus 
fought  at  Marathon  and  Artemisium  at  Salamis  and 
Plataea.  But  there  is  nothing  in  "The  Persians"  to 
justify  the  belief  that  Herodotus  got  any  data  for  his 
history  from  the  poem. 

But  Mr.  Cox,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  as  to  the  num- 
ber of  ships,  the  drama  of  ^Eschylus  corroborates  He- 
rodotus, and  perhaps  convinced  of  the  fact  that  there 
must  have  been  some  written  evidence  from  which  He- 
rodotus procured  his  data,  does  not  strengthen  his  ar- 
gument by  resorting  to  a  "  spurious  or  forged  "  mus- 
ter-roll. He  argues  that  no  muster-roll  ever  existed, 
but  if  it  did  exist,  that  it  was  not  accessible.  But  in  the 
face  of  corroborating  proof  from  the  drama  of 
iEschylus,  as  to  the  ships,  he  resorts  to  the  theory  of 
a  "  spurious  or  forged  "  document. 

As  to  the  numerical  strength  of  the  Persian  afmy, 
many  modern  writers  follow  the  conclusions  of  Mr. 
Grote  and  Professor  Rawlinson,  without  independent 
inquiry  or  investigation.  In  pursuing  this  subject, 
however,  it  will  be  necessary  to  distinguish  as  between 
the  fighting  men  and  the  non-combatants.  As  to  the 
latter,  Herodotus  professes  to  give  only  his  own  es- 
timate as  to  their  number,  based  on  his  knowledge  of 
surrounding  facts. 

With  reference  to  the  combatants,  then,  upon  what 
grounds,  and  upon  what  evidence  do  Mr.  Grote  and 
Mr.  Rawlinson  base  their  conclusions,  as  to  the  accuracy 
of  the  narrative  of  the  great  historian.     In  this  con- 


BUEDEN    OP    PROOF    ON    CRITICS 


281 


nection,  after  quoting  the  figures,  given  by  Herodotus, 
Mr.  Grote  observes : 

"  So  stands  the  prodigious  estimate  of  his  army,  the 
whole  strength  of  the  eastern  world;  in  clear  and  ex- 
press figures  of  Herodotus,  who  himself  evidently  sup- 
poses the  number  to  have  been  even  greater,  for  he  con- 
ceives the  number  of  '  camp  followers '  as  not  only 
equal  to  but  considerably  larger  than  that  of  fighting 
men.  To  admit  this  overwhelming  total  or  anything 
near  to  it,  is  obviously  impossible ;  yet  the  disparaging 
remarks  which  it  has  drawn  upon  Herodotus  are  no 
way  merited." 

But  the  bare  conclusion  of  a  writer  so  eminent  and 
highly  esteemed  as  Mr.  Grote,  that  he  cannot  credit  the 
statement  of  another  eminent  writer  as  to  some  particu- 
lar historical  fact,  proves  nothing.  Herodotus,  as  has 
been  observed,  has  given  an  array  of  facts  and  con- 
vincing details  which  are  amply  sufficient  to  sustain  his 
conclusions  and  the  truth  of  his  narrative.  In  other 
words,  Herodotus,  in  treating  his  subject,  has  made  a 
prima  facie  case,  and  the  burden  is  on  his  critics  to  show 
that  he  Is  mistaken.  In  this,  those  who  assail  his  ac- 
curacy, or  his  opinions,  must  advance  sound  argument, 
and  give  some  plausible  reason  to  show  wherein  he  is 
mistaken,  and  point  out  clearly  why  his  statements  or 
conclusions  are  erroneous.  We  most  respectfully  sub- 
mit that  Mr.  Grote  has  not  done  this,  because  there  is 
a  discrepancy  and  infirmity  in  the  argument  he  ad- 
vances, which  we  will  refer  to  presently,  which  weakens 
his  conclusions.  His  reasons  are  not  sufficient  to  dis- 
credit the  accuracy  of  Herodotus,  or  to  justify  the 
conclusion  that  he  is  mistaken. 

For  example,  Mr.  Grote  says  that  it  Is  highly  im- 
probable that  Herodotus  ever  saw  the  roster  of  the 
army  of  Xerxes  at  Doriscus,  or  at  any  other  place, 
and  concludes  that  no  muster-roll  of  the  army  ever 
existed.     On  this  vital  point,  Mr.  Rawlinson  does  not 


I 
I 

■f; 


282 


MIUTAET   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


I 


concur  in  the  views  of  his  friend  and  contemporary. 
In  order  to  explain  how  Herodotus  could  have  pre- 
pared his  narrative  with  its  array  of  convincing  de- 
tails, without  access  to  written  documents,  Mr.  Grote 
says  that  he  must  have  conversed  with  many  persons 
who  were  present  at  the  review  at  Doriscus  "  and  had 
learned  the  separate  totals  promulgated  by  the  enu- 
merators." 

Here  we  have  the  significant  admission   that  there 
were  enumerators ;   that  they  numbered  the  armament ; 
that  these  numbers  were  recorded  in  such  manner  that 
"  separate  totals  "  were  arrived  at.     Is  not  this  admis- 
sion  sufficient   to   support  the  contention   of  Heeren, 
Rawlinson  and  other  scholars,  that  a  muster-roll  was 
prepared,   and   that   the   document  or   documents   em- 
bracing it,  or  copies  of  it,  were  extant  when  Herodotus 
wrote.?     Are  not  these  statements  of  Mr.  Grote  abso- 
lutely inconsistent  with  his  prior  observations  that  no 
muster-roll  ever  existed?  Is  it  probable  or  possible  that 
the  details  of  the  most  stupendous  military  force  that 
the  world  ever  saw  could  have  been  communicated  orally 
to  Herodotus,  and  that  isolated  facts  could  have  been 
furnished  to   him   by   many  witnesses   from   which  he 
could  have  composed  his  wonderful  description  of  the 
vast  hosts  at  Doriscus,  with  an  accuracy  of  detail  that 
carries  conviction?    The  only  conclusion,  which  is  prob- 
able, in  view  of  all  the  facts,  is  that  there  was  a  muster- 
roll  thorough  and  complete  in  all  its  details,  at  least  as 
to  the  infantry  and  fighting  men  of  the  fleet,  giving 
numbers,  names  of  commanders  and  subalterns  of  all 
grades,  and  that  the  document  or  a  copy  of  it  was 
studied  by  Herodotus,  and  furnished  the  data  for  his 
narrative.     Professor  Arnold  Herman  Ludwig  Heeren, 
a  distinguished  German  scholar,  and  voluminous  author, 
in  his  "  Nations  of  Antiquity,"  accepts  the  catalogue 
of  the  host  of  Xerxes,  as  Herodotus  has  given  it,  which 
he  regards  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  the 


OBSEEVATIONS    OP   ME.    GEOTE 


283 


records  of  history  to  the  mind  of  the  philosophical  his- 
torian. 

If  it  is  conceded  that  the  muster-roll  was  made,  then 
the  reason  for  impeaching  the  accuracy  of  Herodotus 
fails.  In  order  to  discredit  his  narrative,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  impeach  the  accuracy  of  the  muster-roll,  and 
to  show  that  the  number  of  combatants  therein  enu- 
merated are  grossly  exaggerated.  This  last  assumption 
as  to  the  inaccuracy  of  the  roster  is  a  mere  conjecture. 
It  is  pure  invention,  resorted  to  to  support  the  conclu- 
sion that  somehow  somebody  is  mistaken.  There  are 
no  facts  given  by  anybody  to  support  the  conclusion 
that  Xerxes  lied  in  his  muster-roll,  or  caused  it  to  be 
padded  to  gratify  his  selfish  pride.  On  the  contrary, 
after  his  defeat,  the  documents  being  in  his  control  at 
all  times,  it  would  have  been  to  his  interest  to  have 
diminished  materially  the  number  of  his  forces,  to  show 
that  his  army  was  not  so  formidable.  But  as  to  this 
we  shall  refer  presently.  On  this  point  Mr.  Grote 
says: 

"  There  would  be  little  or  no  motive  for  the  enumera- 
tors to  be  exact,  and  every  motive  for  them  to  exag- 
gerate; an  immense  nominal  total  would  be  no  less 
pleasing  to  the  army  than  to  the  monarch  himself,  so 
that  the  military  total  of  land  force  and  ships'  crews, 
which  Herodotus  gives  at  2,641,000  on  the  arrival  at 
Thermopylae  may  be  dismissed  as  unwarranted  and 
indefensible." 

It  will  be  observed  that  Mr.  Grote  concedes  the  num- 
ber of  ships  stated  by  Herodotus  to  be  correct,  because 
he  says  nothing  about  the  ships,  but  only  "  the  land 
force  and  ships'  crews." 

The  difficulty  with  his  argument  is  that  it  is  based 
on  mere  conjecture,  mere  dogmatic  assertion,  without 
any  facts  or  even  tradition  or  vague  rumors  to  support 
it.  To  say  that  there  would  be  no  motive  for  the 
enumerators,  or  those  who  compiled  the  muster-roll  of 


284 


MIUTAKY  annals   op    6BEECE 


the  army,  to  be  exact,  and  every  motive  for  them  to 
exaggerate,  is  a  mere  conclusion  based  only  on  surmise. 
There  is  not  even  a  rumor  or  tradition  cited  from  any 
source  to  support  the  statement.  There  is  no  mention 
of  the  fact,  if  it  was  a  fact,  that  Xerxes  was  ever  ac- 
cused by  any  contemporary  with  padding  his  muster- 
roll.  But  after  his  defeat  he  was  doubtless  diligent  in 
having  it  appear  that  his  armament  was  small.  Ctesias, 
who  wrote  more  than  eighty  years  after  the  battle  of 
Salamis,  undertook  the  task  of  impeaching  the  history 
of  Herodotus,  but  scholars  concede  that  his  under- 
taking was  a  failure.  He  gives  the  number  of  Xerxes' 
land  forces  at  800,000,  exclusive  of  chariots,  and  of  his 
fleet  as  1,000. 

The  only  other  contemporaneous  authority,  if  we 
may  class  Ctesias  as  a  contemporary,  is  the  poet 
-^schylus.  Doubtless  Herodotus  conversed  many  times 
with  this  gifted  man.  In  "  The  Persians,"  he  describes 
the  battle  of  Salamis,  but  only  makes  a  brief  reference 
to  Platffia.  He  gives  the  number  of  ships  of  the  Per- 
sian fleet  at  Salamis  as  1,207.  The  words  which  the 
poet  puts  in  the  mouth  of  the  herald,  who  hastened 
from  the  scene  of  the  conflict  with  the  news  of  the  naval 
disaster  to  inform  Atossa,  who  received  him  at  the  pal- 
ace in  Susa  are  as  follows: 


Know  —  if  mere  count  of  ships  could  win  the  day. 

The  Persians  had  prevailed.     The  Greeks  in  sooth 

Had  but  three  hundred  galleys  at  the  most. 

And  other  ten,  select  and  separate. 

But  —  I  am  witness  —  Xerxes  held  command 

Of  full  a  thousand  keels,  and  those  apart. 

Two  hundred  more,  and  seven,  for  speed  renowned; 

So  stands  the  reckoning,  who  shall  dare 

To  say  we  Persians  had  the  lesser  host. 


The  above  translation  is  by  Morshead.     Miss  Anna 
Swanwick  thus  renders  the  lines: 


TESTIMONY    OF    .ESCHYLUS 

But  Xerxes,  this  I  know,  led  fifty  score. 
While  those  for  swiftness  most  preeminent. 
Two  hundred  were  and  seven. 


285 


There  is  a  slight  discrepancy  between  the  narrative 
of  Herodotus  and  the  account  in  the  drama  of  JEschy- 
lus  as  to  the  number  of  ships  in  this ;  the  former  gives 
the  number  at  Doriscus  as  1,207.  In  the  storms  that 
ensued  oiF  the  coast  of  Euboea,  and  in  the  naval  engage- 
ments at  Artemisium,  647  ships  were  lost,  while  but  120 
were  added  to  the  fleet.  Consequently  Xerxes'  naval 
force  at  Salamis  must  have  numbered  but  680.  It  is 
clear,  therefore,  that  the  poet  states  the  number  as 
originally  enrolled  at  Doriscus. 

Professor  Rawlinson  gives  a  plausible  reason  to  show 
that  this  discrepancy  is  more  apparent  than  real.  He 
observes  that  the  fleet  was  counted  but  once.  When 
-^schylus  inquired  its  number  of  the  captives  taken  at 
Salamis,  they  would  tell  him  the  number  as  ascertained 
at  Doriscus.  The  testimony  of  Herodotus  and  ^Eschy- 
lus,  who  agree  as  to  the  number  of  ships,  is  contradicted 
only  by  Ctesias. 

What  then  becomes  of  the  assumption  that  Xerxes 
must  have  padded  his  muster-roll,  and  greatly  exag- 
gerated the  numbers  composing  his  armament.'*  It  is 
conceded  that  the  number  of  ships  in  his  fleet  at  Doris- 
cus is  correctly  stated  at  1,207.  If  this  is  correct, 
then  there  was  no  exaggeration  as  to  the  number  of 
vessels.  It  is  claimed,  however,  that  the  exaggeration 
was  as  to  the  number  composing  the  crews.  If  the 
motive  of  Xerxes  was  to  exaggerate,  why  did  he  not  ex- 
aggerate the  number  of  ships  also,  as  well  as  their 
crews.''  He  could  have  requested  his  enumerators  to 
write  in  the  records  2,414  ships  just  as  easily  as  1,207, 
the  correct  number.  Or  if  one  hundred  per  cent,  seemed 
too  great  an  increase,  the  number  could  have  been  placed 
at  1,810,  which  would  have  been  but  fifty  per  cent,  over 
the  actual  number.     It  can  hardly  be  assumed  that  if 


1 

I 


286 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


the  object  of  the  King  was  to  gratify  his  foolish  pride, 
by  increasing  his  armament  on  paper,  that  he  would 
have  increased  it,  as  to  the  army  alone  and  not  as  to 
the  navy. 

On  the  question,  however,  as  to  the  numerical 
strength  of  the  army,  Mr.  Rawlinson  adopts  the  views 
of  his  friend  and  contemporary,  Mr.  Grote,  although 
he  believes  there  was  a  muster-roll,  and  that  Herodotus 
had  access  to  it.  He  does  not,  however,  advance  any 
argument  to  sustain  his  theory,  other  than  suggestions 
and  suppositions  which  had  already  been  advanced  by 
Mr.  Grote.  He  adopts  the  theory  of  the  latter  that 
the  number  of  the  infantry  was  greatly  exaggerated, 
and  declares  that  their  number  "  could  only  be  guessed 
at."  Indeed,  Mr.  Rawlinson,  on  this  point,  indulges 
almost  wholly  in  conjecture.     He  says: 

"  The  Asiatic  infantry  was  no  doubt  purposely  ex- 
aggerated by  its  commanders,  who  did  order  their  men, 
when  they  entered  the  enclosure,  not  to  stand  close  to- 
gether. The  amount  of  this  exaggeration,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  estimate,  but  it  can  scarcely  have 
amounted  to  so  much  as  one-half." 

But  he  gives  no  facts,  and  no  authority  from  any 
writer  of  antiquity  (with  all  of  whom  he  was  very 
familiar),  to  sustain  his  surmise,  for  it  is  nothing  but 
a  surmise.  The  opinions  of  men  like  Rawlinson  or 
Grote  would  indeed  have  very  great  weight,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  any  contemporaneous  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject. But  the  opinions  given  by  them  are  directly  con- 
trary to  those  expressed  by  Herodotus,  who  must  have 
based  his  statements  upon  positive  evidence  obtained 
both  from  written  data,  and  from  statements  of  living 
witnesses. 

Mr.  Rawlinson  assumes,  in  support  of  his  conclu- 
sion, that  the  only  mode  employed  for  numbering  the 
infantry  was  by  measurement,  marching  them  into  an 
enclosure  capable  of  holding  just  ten  thousand  men, 


THE    TROOPS    WERE    COUNTED  287 

which  was  filled  170  times.  He  then  states  positively 
that  when  the  men  entered  the  enclosure,  their  com- 
manders ordered  them  "not  to  stand  close  together." 
This  assumption  is  scarcely  worthy  of  serious  consid- 
eration, because  computation  by  measure  was  not  the 
only  means  employed  to  number  the  infantry,  and  also 
for  the  reason  as  stated  above,  that  if  it  was  desired 
to  make  a  false  count,  it  would  not  have  been  confined 
to  the  army  only,  but  would  have  extended  to  the  ships 
of  the  navy  also.  It  may  be  conceded  that  the  method 
employed  for  numbering  the  troops,  by  marching  them 
into  an  enclosure,  capable  of  holding  just  ten  thou- 
sand men,  was  somewhat  crude,  and  not  entirely  reli- 
able, although  Mr.  Rawlinson  tells  us  it  had  long  been 
resorted  to  by  the  Persians,  and  was  quite  a  customary 
method  with  them.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  this 
mode  of  enumeration  was  but  an  initial  method,  be- 
cause, after  it  was  measured,  the  army  was  coimted ;  or- 
ganized into  companies  of  one  hundred,  and  regiments 
of  one  thousand,  and  these  again  were  formed  into  divi- 
sions of  ten  thousand,  each  division  being  composed  of 
ten  regiments.  The  decimal  system  was  used,  for  the 
companies  were  divided  into  squads  of  ten.  In  this 
way  any  errors  made  in  the  method  of  enumeration  by 
use  of  the  enclosure,  would  readily  be  corrected.  This 
work  of  organizing  the  army  was  done  by  the  com- 
manders whose  names  are  given.  "  They  set  the  army 
in  order,"  says  Herodotus,  "and  numbered  them  and 
appointed  commanders  of  thousands,  and  of  ten  thou- 
sands. But  the  commanders  of  ten  thousand  ap- 
pointed the  captains  of  hundreds  and  captains  of 
tens." 

Mr.  Rawlinson  says  that  in  estimating  the  numbers 
of  the  Persian  army,  in  some  instances,  Herodotus  made 
merely  a  "  rough  guess."  In  this  connection  it  is  im- 
portant to  quote  the  words  of  the  historian.  He 
says: 


288 


MILITARY  ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


Ma.  eawlinson's  estimates 


289 


"  The  numbers  were  at  this  time  (referring  to  the 
time  when  Thermopylae  was  reached),  as  I  find  by 
calculations  the  following  amount:  of  those  in  ships 
from  Asia  amounting  to  1,207,  originally  the  whole 
number  of  the  several  nations  was  241,400  men  allow- 
ing 200  to  each  ship;  and  on  these  ships  30  Per- 
sians, Medes  and  Sacse  served  as  marines  in  addition 
to  the  native  crews  of  each.  This  further  number 
amounts  to  36,210.  To  this  and  the  former  number, 
I  add  those  that  were  on  the  penteconters,  supposing 
eighty  men  on  the  average  to  be  on  board  of  each; 
but,  as  I  have  said  before,  3,000  of  these  vessels  were 
assembled;  therefore  the  men  on  board  of  them  must 
have  been  240,000.  This  then  was  the  naval  force 
from  Asia,  the  total  being  517,610. 

"  Of  infantry  there  were  1,700,000  and  of  cavalry 
80,000.  To  these  I  add  the  Arabians  who  rode  camels, 
and  the  Libyans  who  drove  chariots  reckoning  the 
number  at  20,000  men.  Accordingly,  the  numbers  on 
board  ships  and  on  the  land  added  together,  make 
up  2,317,610.  This  is  the  force  assembled  from  Asia 
itself,  exclusive  of  the  servants  that  followed,  and  the 
provision  ships,  and  the  men  that  were  on  board 
them. 

"  The  force  brought  from  Europe  must  still  be  added 
to  this  whole  number  that  has  been  summed  up,  but  it 
is  necessary  to  speak  by  guess."  ^ 

Herodotus  then  enumerates  thirteen  nations,  who 
furnished  the  European  forces  including  120  ships  fur- 
nished by  Grecians  from  Thrace  and  contiguous  islands, 
which  he  estimates  in  all  at  324,000  men,  which,  added 
to  the  2,317,610  Asiatics  makes  the  grand  total  of  com- 
batants 2,641,610. 

Mr.  Rawlinson  tabulates  these  numbers  with  com- 
ments as  follows: 


Infantry 1,700,000, 

Cavalry     80,000, 

Arabs  and  Libyans 20,000, 

Crews  of  Triremes   241,400, 


Armed  force  on  Triremes  .      36,210, 


Crews  of  smaller  vessels  . .    240,000, 


Land  Army,  Europeans  . . .    300,000, 
Crews    of   triremes,   Euro- 
peans  ,   24,000, 


Measured  at  Doriscus. 

Common  "report,  probably 
counted    at   Doriscus. 

Rough  guess. 

Calculated  from  1207  known 
number  of  triremes,  200 
to  each. 

Calculated  from  1207  known 
number  of  triremes,  30  to 
each. 

Rough  guess  from  supposed 
number  3,000  and  pre- 
sumed average  crew  of  80. 

Rough  guess. 

Calculated  from  number  of 
triremes  likely  to  be 
known. 


» Herod,  vii,  184,  185. 


Total  forces 2,641,610 

Mr.  Rawlinson  then  revises  the  careful  calculations 
and  estimates  of  Herodotus  to  suit  his  own  conjectures. 
He  says  that  the  following  numbers  appear  to  be  be- 
yond suspicion,  which  we  tabulate  for  convenience,  as 
follows : 

Crews  of  Triremes,  Asiatic 941,400 

"       "  "  European  24,000 

Armed  forces  on  Asiatic  Triremes 36,210 

Asiatic  Cavalry  (a  low  estimate) 80,000 

Approved  as  correct 381,610 

The  following  numbers  Mr.  Rawlinson  considers 
open  to  question: 

Crews  of  penteconters  and  smaller  vessels   guessed  at 

3,000  supposed  average  80 240,000 

From  this  estimate  Mr.  Rawlinson  deducts 200,000 

Mr.  Rawlinson's  estimate  or  guess 40,000 

Arabs  and  Libyans 20,000 

Mr.  Rawlinson  deducts 10,000 

Mr.  Rawlinson's  estimate 10,000 


I 


h 


290  MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 

Land   forces,   Europeans 300  OOO 

Mr.  Rawlinson  deducts  two-thirds..  ......*..*.*.*.*.*.*/.".'.'///    20o|oOO 

Mr.   Rawlinson's  estimate 100,000 

Asiatic     Infantry 1,700,000 

Mr.   Rawlinson  deducts 700,000 

Mr.  Rawlinson's  estimate 1,000,000 

Referring  to  the  Asiatic  forces,  Herodotus  explicitly 
states  that  his  results  were  obtained  by  calculation.  As 
to  the  European  forces,  however,  he  says  that  he  can 
speak  only  from  conjecture.  The  forces,  from  Europe, 
were  not  present  at  Doriscus,  but  were  drafted  on  the 
march  after  leaving  the  scene  of  the  grand  review. 
When  Xerxes  advanced  from  Doriscus  "he  forced  all 
the  nations  through  which  he  passed  to  take  part  in 
the  expedition."  (Her.  vii,  108.)  There  is  no  mention 
of  any  review  of  these  forces,  which  were  enrolled  on 
the  march  in  Thrace,  Macedonia  and  Thessaly.  For 
convenience  we  tabulate  the  figures  as  to  the  strength  of 
the  Persian  army,  when  it  reached  Thermopylie  as  fol- 
lows: 


Naval  Forces  from  A  Ha 

In  1207  Asiatic  ships,  allowing  a  crew  of  200 
to  each  ship 341  400 

Marines,  Persians,  Medes  and  Saccae;  30  in 
each   ship 36,210 

80  men  on  each  of  the  3,o66  Penteconters . .  *      240,000 

Total  Naval  Forces  from  Asia 517,610 

Land  Forces  from  Asia 

Infantry    1,700,000 

Cavalry    80,000 

Arabs    on    camels,    and    Libyans    who    drove 
chariots    20,000 

Total  from  Asia 1,800,000 

Total  land  and  naval  forces 2,317,610 


SUMMARY    OF    FOECES 


291 


Of  the  troops  recruited  in  Europe,  Herodotus  ex- 
pressly declares  it  is  necessary  to  speak  from  conjec- 
ture.    These  were  estimated  as  follows : 

European  Forces 

Greeks  from  Thrace  and  neighboring  islands 

in   120   ships 24,000 

Other  European  land  forces 300000 

Total  European  forces 324  000 

Total  from  Asia '  q ^n  ein 

Total  from  Europe  (estimated) ' ' ' .' .' .' ' .' .' ' .' .'  .* .' '  *  [  * ' "    324*000 

Total  force  of  fighting  men JelTeiO 

Number    of   servants,    camp    followers    and '      * 

crews  of  provision  ships  and  other  vessels, 
which  accompanied  the  fleet  — not  less 
than  the  number  of  fighting  men 2,641,610 

Total  armament  of  Xerxes 5,283,220 

The  careful  computations,  and  studied  estimates 
made  by  Herodotus,  who  derived  his  information  from 
written  documents  and  official  data,  to  which  he  had 
access,  as  Mr.  Rawlinson  concedes,  and  from  informa- 
tion obtained  from  eye-witnesses,  has  been  revised  and 
corrected  by  the  distinguished  Oxford  scholar,  writing 
more  than  twenty-two  centuries  later,  and  we  are  asked 
to  substitute  the  revised  summary  of  the  latter  for  the 
careful  enumeration  of  the  first  great  historian,  whose 
accuracy  has  never  been  questioned  by  any  contempo- 
raneous author  except  Ctesias,  whose  principal  object 
was  to  impeach  the  integrity  of  Herodotus.  Here  is 
the  summary  of  Mr.  Rawlinson,  who  confessedly  bases 
his  conclusions  on  what  might  with  propriety  be  termed 
a  "  rough  guess." 


MR.   RAWLINSON*S   ESTIMATES 

Asiatic   Infantry  about 1,000,000 

Cavalry        «     qqqqq 


292  MIMTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 

Libyans  in  chariots  about    10,000 

European  land  force       " 100,000 

Total    land    force 1,190,000        1,190,000 

Crews   of  Asiatic  triremes   241, 400 

Armed   force  on  Asiatic  triremes 36,210 

Crews  of  smaller  vessels  about   40,000 

Crews    of   European    triremes 24,000 

Total  sea  force    341,610          341,610 

Total   fighting  force    1,531,610 

Strength   of   armament   of  Xerxes   given 

by   Herodotus    2,641,000 

Strength  of  armament  as  revised  by  Mr. 

Rawlinson    1,531,610 

Total     deductions    1,109,390 


A  synopsis  of  Mr.  Rawlinson's  argument  to  sustain 
his  reasons  for  correcting  and  revising  the  record  of 
Herodotus  may  be  summarized  as  follows:  He  says  in 
regard  to  the  crews  of  smaller  vessels:  (1)  "  The  crews 
of  the  penteconters  and  smaller  vessels,  which  are 
guessed  at  3,000  in  number  with  a  supposed  average 
crew  of  eighty  giving  a  total  of  240,000  men.  The 
average  of  80  seems  unduly  large  since  it  is  difficult  to 
suppose  that  even  the  crew  of  a  penteconter  much  ex- 
ceeded that  number,  and  the  smaller  vessels  must  have 
carried  very  many  less.  Perhaps  40  or  50  would  be  a 
fairer  average.  And  the  number  of  three  thousand 
might  safely  be  reduced  to  one,  for  the  trireme  had  now 
become  the  ordinary  ship  of  war.  These  reductions 
would  strike  off  200,000  men." 

Herodotus  had  no  data  on  which  to  base  the  number 
of  the  European  contingent,  and  says  so.  He  declares 
as  to  these  it  is  necessary  to  speak  by  guess.  As  to  the 
vessels,  however,  he  speaks  positively.  Mr.  Rawlinson 
says  that  the  crew  of  a  penteconter  did  not  mtich  ex- 
ceed eighty.  The  smaller  vessels  to  which  he  refers 
are  the  Trieconters,  light  boats  and  long  horse  trans- 


ME.     EAWLINSOn's     ASSUMPTIONS 


293 


ports.  We  have  no  record  as  to  the  number  of  these, 
aside  from  the  penteconters.  Mr.  Rawlinson  concedes 
that  the  crews  of  the  penteconters  exceeded  80,  but 
how  much  in  excess  of  that  number  he  does  not  state. 
Herodotus,  however,  who  knew  the  usual  number  of  the 
crew  of  the  penteconter,  gives  a  general  average  of 
80  to  3,000  auxiliary  vessels,  and  no  reason  has  been 
shown  on  which  to  impeach  his  judgment  as  to  this, 
and  Mr.  Rawlinson's  assumption  is  mere  conjecture. 
Indeed,  we  may  be  justified  in  assuming  that  this  aux- 
iliary fleet  was  composed  chiefly  of  penteconters. 

(2)  Again  Mr.  Rawlinson  observes:  "  The  Arabs  and 
Libyans  seem  overrated  at  20,000.  If  the  entire  cav- 
alry to  which  so  many  of  the  chief  nations  contributed 
was  not  more  than  80,000,  the  camels  are  not  likely  to 
have  reached  10,000.  It  must  be  doubted,  too,  whether 
the  Arabian  camel  riders,  who  were  stationed  in  the 
rear,  did  not  really  belong  to  the  baggage  train,  in 
which  case  Herodotus  would  have  counted  them  twice." 

What  is  there  to  support  the  assumption  that  the 
Arabs  and  Libyans  were  overrated  at  20,000.?  Herodo- 
tus says  the  Libyans  drove  chariots,  and  the  Arabians 
rode  camels.  The  latter  were  in  the  rear  of  the  horses, 
for  the  horse  cannot  endure  the  smell  of  a  camel,  and 
when  placed  behind  them,  become  unmanageable.  He- 
rodotus reckons  these  at  20,000  and  no  good  reason  is 
given  to  substitute  the  number  10,000  upon  a  mere 
statement  that  the  camels  and  chariots  are  not  likely 
"  to  have  reached  10,000." 

(3)  As  to  the  European  land  force,  Mr.  Rawlinson 
says  it  fell  "  probably  far  short  of  300,000,"  as  the 
levies  were  hastily  raised  on  the  line  of  march  of  the 
Persian  army,  and  was  "not  likely  to  have  reached 
one-third  that  amount." 

Mr.  Rawlinson,  however,  overlooks  the  fact  that 
these  levies  were  not  "hastily  raised  on  the  line  of 
inarch."      Preparations    for   this   expedition   had  been 


294 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


made  on  a  large  scale  for  several  years;  magazines 
and  stores  had  been  laid  up  on  the  line  of  march,  by 
natives  in  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  as  well  as  in  Asia, 
who  had  been  ordered  to  prepare  food  and  supplies  of 
all  kinds  in  anticipation  of  the  necessities  of  the  great 
armament  contemplated  by  Darius,  and  later  by  his  son 
Xerxes.  The  European  levies  were  doubtless  recruited 
long  before  the  Persian  army  reached  Doriscus  and  the 
careful  estimate  of  Herodotus,  who  after  enumerating 
the  nations  or  tribes  who  furnished  the  troops,  esti- 
mates the  number  at  300,000. 

(4)  As  to  the  Asiatic  infantry,  1,700,000,  the  ar- 
gument used  by  Mr.  Rawlinson  in  support  of  his  claim 
that  it  did  not  reach  more  than  1,000,000  is  that  the 
number  "  was  no  doubt  purposely  exaggerated  by  its 
commanders,  who  ordered  their  men,  when  they  entered 
the  enclosure  not  to  stand  close  together.  The  amount 
of  this  exaggeration  it  is  almost  impossible  to  esti- 
mate, but  it  can  scarcely  have  amounted  to  so  much  as 
one-half." 

The  weakness  of  this  position  is  obvious  because,  as 
has  been  already  observed,  if  the  intention  was  to  aug- 
ment the  real  number  of  the  force  of  Xerxes,  it  is  fair 
to  presume  that  the  fictitious  increase  would  not  have 
been  confined  to  the  infantry  alone,  and  that  no  at- 
tempt would  have  been  made  to  augment  the  cavalry 
forces,  the  crews  of  the  Asiatic  and  European  triremes, 
or  the  number  of  ships.  If  the  reason  for  distrusting 
the  number  of  infantry  was  based  on  the  assumption 
that  the  men  were  measured  and  not  counted,  the  an- 
swer is  that  they  were  counted  after  they  were  meas- 
ured and  assigned  to  company's  regiments,  and  divi- 
sions each  containing  definite  numbers  —  10  men  to  a 
file,  10  files  to  a  company,  10  companies  to  a  regiment 
and  10  regiments  to  a  diivision,  all  clearly  set  forth  in 
the  narrative  of  Herodotus. 

Herodotus  is  further  supported  by  the  popular  belief 


TESTIMONY    OP    HERODOTUS 


295 


at  the  time.  The  current  report  as  to  the  number  of 
barbarians  Leonidas  encountered,  was  that  Xerxes 
commanded  3,000,000  at  Thermopylae,  as  appears  by 
the  inscriptions  on  the  monuments  erected  on  the  field. 
In  memory  of  those  who  fell  at  the  pass,  Herodotus 
says  the  following  inscription  has  been  engraved  over 
them:  "Four  thousand  from  Peloponnesus  once 
fought  on  this  spot  with  three  hundred  myriads." 

With  respect  to  the  non-combatants,  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent question  is  presented.  Herodotus  does  not  say 
that  the  number  he  estimates  is  based  upon  an  accurate 
count,  or  enumeration.     He  makes  no  such  claim. 

"  I  think,"  says  Herodotus,  "  that  the  servants  who 
followed  them"  (the  fighting  men),  "and  with  those 
on  board  the  provision  ships  and  other  vessels  that 
sailed  with  the  fleet,  were  not  fewer  than  the  fighting 
men,  but  more  numerous ;  but  supposing  them  to  be 
equal  in  number  with  the  fighting  men,  they  make  up 
the  former  number  of  myriads.  ...  Of  women  who 
made  bread,  and  concubines  and  eunuchs,  no  one  could 
mention  the  number  with  any  accuracy."  ^ 

As  to  the  non-combatants,  therefore,  Herodotus 
deserves  not  censure,  but  is  rather  to  be  commended  for 
his  clear  and  convincing  statements.  He  says  plainly 
that  as  to  these  followers  of  the  army  no  one  can  men- 
tion the  number  with  any  accuracy.  But  what  Herodo- 
tus believes,  as  distinguished  from  that  for  which  he 
had  reliable  evidence,  must  have  been  founded  on  data 
and  observation  which  his  modern  critics  in  this  age  do 
not  possess.  We  must  not  forget  that  Herodotus 
stands  before  us  in  the  pages  he  has  written  as  a  wit- 
ness, and  the  only  contemporaneous  witness  we  have 
of  the  scenes  he  describes  in  the  Second  Persian  War. 
True,  he  was  but  four  years  of  age  when  Xerxes  re- 
viewed and  numbered  his  troops  at  Doriscus,  but  there 

*  Herod,  vii,  186-187. 


296 


MILITAEY  ANNALS   OP    GEEECE 


can  be  no  question  that  he  saw  the  muster-roll  of  that 
army  if  it  was  in  existence  a  quarter  of  a  century  after 
it  was  made  by  the  royal  scribes  by  command  of  Xerxes. 
He  talked,  also,  with  men  who  had  seen  it  and  discussed 
fully  with  them  the  details  of  the  grand  review  which 
he  describes  so  graphically.  He  talked  with  men  who 
fought  at  Artemisium  and  at  Salamis.  He  is  careful 
and  painstaking  throughout  his  work.  His  fondness 
for  the  stories,  the  anecdotes,  and  the  gossip  of  his 
time,  does  not  weaken  the  historical  value  of  his  narra- 
tive, for  the  reason  that  he  is  always  careful  to  give 
these  interesting  bits  of  information  for  what  they  are 
worth,  and  tells  the  reader  he  must  discriminate  as  to 
the  weight  to  be  given  to  them.  He  devoted  years  in 
collecting  material  for  his  work  and  visited  personally 
many  places  described  in  his  history.  No  man  was  bet- 
ter qualified  than  Herodotus  to  judge  of  the  number 
of  non-combatants  with  the  army  of  Xerxes.  His  can- 
did opinion  is  that  the  non-combatants,  as  matter  of 
fact,  outnumbered  the  fighting  men.  To  be  on  the  safe 
side,  however,  he  makes  his  estimate  of  the  number  of 
the  former  the  same  as  the  number  of  the  latter. 

Those  who  claim  that  this  estimate  is  not  trustworthy 
do  not  furnish  any  facts  upon  which  to  have  us  credit 
their  statements.  Mr.  Rawlinson  observes  as  to  the 
non-combatants : 

"  With  respect  to  the  non-combatants,  Mr.  Grote's 
remark  (Hist.  Greece,  Vol.  5,  p.  48)  is  most  sound, 
that  Herodotus  has  applied  a  Greek  standard  to  a  case 
where  such  application  is  wholly  unwarranted.  The 
crews  of  the  vessels  would  decidedly  have  had  no  at- 
tendants and  the  *  great  mass  of  the  army '  would  like- 
wise have  been  without  them.  *  A  few  grandees  might 
be  richly  provided,'  yet  even  their  attendants  would 
mostly  have  carried  arms,  and  been  counted  among  the 
infantry.  It  was  therefore  scarcely  necessary  for  He- 
rodotus to  have  made  any  addition  at  all  to  his  estimate 


VIEWS    OF    CURTIUS 


297 


on  the  score  of  attendants,  and  if  he  made  any,  it  should 
have  been  very  trivial." 

The  observations  are  wholly  unauthorized,  and  de- 
rive their  chief  importance  from  the  eminence  and 
ability  of  the  men,  who  suggest  them.  Mr.  Grote, 
quoted  in  this  connection  by  Mr.  Rawlinson,  is  emi- 
nently fair,  and  while  he  does  not  credit  the  statement 
of  Herodotus  as  to  the  numbers  of  the  Persian  army, 
observes  that  "  the  disparaging  remarks  which  it  has 
drawn  upon  Herodotus,  are  no  way  merited." 

Mr.  Rawlinson's  suggestion  that  it  was  "  scarcely 
necessary  for  Herodotus  to  have  made  any  addition  at 
all  to  his  estimate,  on  the  score  of  attendants,  and  if 
he  made  any,  it  should  have  been  very  trivial,"  are  un-: 
just  and  wholly  unwarranted.  If  Mr.  Rawlinson  means 
that  Herodotus  should  only  have  given  an  account  of 
the  fighting  men,  and  said  nothing  at  all  about  the 
non-combatants,  the  observation  has  no  force,  because, 
it  was  intended  by  the  author  to  show  how  many  people 
accompanied  Xerxes  on  his  memorable  expedition.  But 
if  the  point  made  is  that  in  giving  the  number  of  non- 
combatants,  Herodotus  should  have  given  his  estimate 
of  these  so  far  as  numbers  are  concerned  as  "  very 
trivial,"  we  respectfully  ask,  why.?  Is  it  bcause  Mr. 
Grote  suggests  that  the  only  attendants  might  have 
been  those  who  accompanied  "  a  few  grandees  "  and 
that  even  these  usually  bore  arms,  and  were  counted 
with  the  infantry.'*  The  facts,  however,  do  not  warrant 
this  assumption.  Professor  Curtius,  a  man  of  great 
learning,  a  distinguished  scholar  and  writer,  in  his  his- 
tory of  Greece,  refers  to  the  Persians  as  habitually 
luxurious  and  declares  that  on  this  expedition  they  had 
their  women  with  them.  "  The  Persians,"  he  says, 
"  were  distinguished  before  all  the  rest  of  the  troops, 
as  members  of  the  ruling  race ;  they  glittered  in  gold, 
and  were  accompanied  by  their  women,  and  numerous 
servants,  having  their  separate  train  assigned  to  them 


298 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    Or    GREECE 


in  the  army."  (Curtius,  Hist.  Greece,  Vol.  2,  p. 
277.) 

Another  point  apparently  overlooked  by  those  who 
seek  to  discredit  Herodotus,  is  the  fact  that  practically 
the  entire  male  population  of  the  ruling  race,  the  Per- 
sians, and  likewise  the  Medes,  accompanied  this  expedi- 
tion. They  travelled  into  Europe  with  their  women, 
their  eunuchs,  their  slaves  and  attendants,  who  sur- 
rounded them  in  the  camp,  and  on  the  march  just  as 
they  attended  and  surrounded  them  at  home.  Herodo- 
tus characterizes  them  as  "  women  who  made  bread, 
and  concubines  and  eunuchs,"  and  servants  and  those  on 
board  provision  ships  and  other  vessels.  In  view  of 
these  facts,  as  Mr.  Grote  correctly  says,  Herodotus 
does  not  merit  the  unjust  criticism  which  has  been  made 
by  some  modem  writers. 

Until  some  argument  is  advanced  to  show  how  He- 
rodotus was  mistaken,  there  is  no  reason  to  discredit 
the  estimate  of  the  great  historian  as  the  number  of 
non-combatants,  who  accompanied  the  army  of  Xerxes 
in  the  second  Persian  war. 

One  plausible  argument  on  which  the  credibility  of 
Herodotus  might  possibly  be  assailed,  is  the  probability 
that  the  presence  of  such  a  great  number  of  human 
beings  passing  in  a  body  through  the  country  was  not 
consistent  with  conditions  of  possible  subsistence,  to 
support  such  a  vast  multitude.  This  point  occurred 
to  Herodotus  himself.  He  discusses  it,  and  shows  that 
he  made  estimates  and  computations  to  show  the  quan- 
tity of  food  that  such  an  armament  would  consume 
daily.  On  this  point  he  doubtless  consulted  intelligent 
eye-witnesses  who  accompanied  Xerxes  on  the  march, 
and  others  who  had  talked  with  Persian  officers,  on  the 
subject.  From  his  thorough  treatment  of  the  matter, 
it  is  obvious  that  the  historian  exhausted  all  available 
sources  of  information.  After  stating  the  grand  total 
of  human  beings,  including  all  camp  followers,  and  non- 


COMPUTATIONS    OF    HERODOTUS 


299 


combatants  5,283,270,  he  observes :  "  I  am  not  aston- 
ished that  the  streams  of  such  rivers  failed,  but  rather, 
it  is  a  wonder  to  me,  how  provisions  held  out  for  so 
many  myriads.  For  I  find  by  calculation,  if  each  man 
had  a  choenix  of  wheat  daily,  and  no  more,  one  hundred 
and  ten  thousand,  three  hundred  and  forty  medimini 
(equivalent  to  1,324,080  gallons),  must  have  been  con- 
sumed every  day,  and  I  have  not  reckoned  the  food  for 
the  women,  eunuchs,  beasts  of  burden  and  dogs."  With 
respect  to  this  computation,  ]\Ir.  Rawlinson  says  that 
there  has  been  a  miscalculation.  "  The  actual  amount 
according  to  the  number  at  which  Herodotus  reckons 
the  host,"  he  says,  "  would  be  110,0671/2  medimini.  The 
mediminis  contained  about  12  English  gallons." 

We  are  told  that  while  Xerxes  was  at  Acanthus  on 
the  Chalcidian  peninsula,  he  was  entertained  with  part 
of  his  army,  a  host  so  numerous  that  the  banquet  cost 
400  talents  of  silver  ($400,000)  and  beggared  the  dis- 
tinguished citizens  who  gave  it.  For  months  the  people 
of  the  country  through  which  he  passed  had  been  collect- 
ing provisions  in  anticipation  of  his  coming,  grinding 
corn  and  wheat  and  preparing  meal.  They  brought 
also  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  land  and  water-fowl. 
It  must  be  remembered  also  that  Darius  and  his  son 
Xerxes  had  been  collecting  provisions  for  years  in  an- 
ticipation of  this  expedition,  that  magazines  of  stores 
had  been  laid  up  on  the  line  of  march,  and  vast  numbers 
of  transports  laden  with  corn  and  provisions  kept  mov- 
ing with  the  army  as  it  advanced  along  the  shore.  It 
will  be  noted  further  that  the  army,  in  passing  through 
the  country  from  Doriscus,  did  not  march  in  one  body. 
The  entire  land  force  was  divided  into  three  divisions, 
one  of  which  accompanied  the  fleet  along  the  coast, 
another  marched  far  inland,  and  between  these  marched 
the  other  division  which  was  accompanied  by  Xerxes. 
In  this  way  the  Persian  forces  were  dispersed  over  a 
wide  range  of  territory,  which  made  it  perhaps  better 


300 


MIUTAEY  ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


able  to  procure  supplies  from  the  inhabitants  along  the 
route.  And  yet  at  times  the  army  suffered.  In  view  of 
the  clear  statements  of  Herodotus,  and  the  source  from 
which  he  must  have  derived  his  material,  no  good  reason 
has  yet  been  assigned  to  doubt  his  accuracy.  He  raised 
precisely  the  same  question  which  Mr.  Grote  raises, 
namely,  as  to  how  so  large  a  force  could  possibly  have 
subsisted,  while  on  the  march  or  in  the  camp,  and  how 
it  was  possible  to  feed  so  many,  even  with  an  ample 
commissary  in  addition  to  supplies  furnished  en  route. 
In  order  to  ascertain  how  much  wheat  was  necessary 
for  the  daily  consumption  of  each  fighting  man,  we  have 
his  calculation.  He  tells  us  exactly  how  much  grain 
must  have  been  consumed  daily  by  the  army  alone,  irre- 
spective of  the  women,  eunuchs,  beasts  of  burden  and 
dogs.  He  went  over  carefully  the  same  ground,  which 
his  modern  critics  have  traveled,  and  raised  the  same 
questions  they  have  raised.  The  latter,  however,  have 
not  as  yet  produced  any  evidence  to  overthrow  the  ac- 
curacy of  his  assertions  or  to  impugn  the  correctness 
of  his  narrative. 

In  this  connection  we  might  suggest  that  it  is  esti- 
mated that  Moses  led  3,000,000  Hebrew  slaves  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt.  These  were  fed  with  manna  in  the 
wilderness.  Joseph  interpreted  the  dream  of  Pharaoh 
and  foretold  seven  years  of  plenty  to  be  followed  by 
seven  years  of  famine.  Like  Darius  and  Xerxes,  the 
Egyptians  filled  the  granaries  and  depots  built  for  the 
purpose  during  the  years  of  plenty.  From  these  stores 
the  Egyptians  and  those  who  came  into  Egypt  when  the 
famine  was  sore,  were  fed,  as  the  Persian  army  was 
partially  fed  from  the  granaries  and  storehouses 
erected  in  Thrace  and  Macedonia  by  Darius  and  Xerxes 
for  years  prior  to  the  Persian  invasion. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

SECOND  PERSIAN  WAR  —  PREPARATIONS  IN  GREECE 
TO  RECEIVE  THE  ARMY  OF  INVASION 

JN  the  arrival  of  Xerxes  at  Sardis,  where  he 
went  into  winter  quarters  {ante,  page  250), 
he  sent  heralds  to  Greece,  to  demand  earth 
and  water,  as  if  the  Hellenes  were  already 
his  subjects.  He  did  not,  however,  send 
either  to  Athens  or  to  Lacedaemon  (Sparta)  for  the 
reason  that  his  father  Darius  had  sent  heralds  to 
Greece  to  demand  earth  and  water  before  sending 
thither  an  invading  army,  but  those  who  had  been  sent 
to  Athens  and  to  Lacedaemon  were  treated  with  cruel 
indignities  and  were  slain.  Those  sent  to  Athens  were 
cast  into  a  deep  pit,  prepared  for  the  destruction  of 
certain  criminals  who  had  been  sentenced  to  death. 
The  heralds  who  came  to  Sparta  were  cast  into  a  well 
from  which  they  were  bidden  carry  earth  and  water  to 
the  King.  But  Xerxes  sent  his  heralds  to  every  other 
city  in  Greece.  The  Hellenes  knew  all  about  the  prepa- 
rations that  were  being  made  for  the  invasion  of  their 
country,  long  before  the  heralds  took  their  departure 
from  Sardis.  The  time  spent  by  the  Persians  in  prepa- 
ration had  been  extraordinary.  From  the  time  of  the 
reduction  of  Egypt,  Xerxes  employed  four  entire  years 
in  assembling  his  forces,  and  providing  whatever  might 
be  necessary  for  the  expedition.  In  the  course  of  the 
fifth  year  he  began  his  march.  But  the  Hellenes  did  not 
all  take  the  same  view  with  regard  to  the  Persian  in- 

301 


302 


MILITARY  ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


vasion.  Some  had  sent  earth  and  water  as  commanded, 
and  these  were  satisfied  that  the  great  forces  of  the  bar- 
barians would  do  them  no  harm.  But  those  who  im- 
bibed their  inspiration  from  Marathon;  those  who 
would  rather  die  free  men  than  live  as  slaves;  those 
whose  patriotism  and  love  of  liberty  emphasized  their 
resolution,  and  determination  to  resist  to  the  last  man 
and  the  last  ship,  bestirred  themselves.  Those  who  sig- 
nified their  submission  to  the  Persian  heralds  were  the 
Thessalians,  the  Dolopes,  the  Enians,  the  Perrh«ebi, 
the  Locrians,  the  Magnetes,  the  Melians,  the  Achseans 
of  Phthiotis,  the  Thebans  and  all  the  rest  of  Bceotia, 
except  the  Thespians  and  the  Plat«eans. 

Those  who  determined  to  fight  for  the  independence 
and  liberties  of  their  country  were  Sparta,  Arcadia, 
Elis,  Corinth,  Sicyon,  Epidaurus,  Philius,  Trcezen, 
Mycena?,  Tiryns,  Hermione,  all  in  the  Peloponnese; 
Athens,  Megara,  Plataea  and  Thespia  were  the  only 
states  and  cities  in  all  central  Greece  who  stood  for 
liberty.  Also  the  island  of  ^gina  in  the  Saronic  Gulf. 
The  burden  of  the  war  of  liberation  and  independence, 
therefore,  devolved  practically  on  Athens  and  Sparta. 
The  resolution  and  constancy  of  these  cities  and  their 
allies  remained  unshaken.  It  became  necessary,  now, 
to  engage  in  this  second  war  for  independence,  and  to 
bring  about  harmony  and  unity  among  those  who  had 
resolved  to  fight.  At  this  juncture  circumstances 
brought  into  prominence  Themistocles,  whose  wisdom 
and  prudence  afterwards  made  him  conspicuous  as  the 
leader  of  his  people.  His  was  the  master  mind,  which 
controlled  and  guided  their  actions  in  the  crisis  which 
now  confronted  them.  His  acts  of  patriotism  and 
valiant  deeds  earned  for  him  the  title  of  the  Saviour 
of  Greece.  Themistocles  knew  that  it  was  essential  to 
secure  unity  and  harmony  among  his  people  in  order 
to  successfully  resist  the  threatened  invasion.  He 
brought  about  a  counsel  or  Confederacy  of  those  cities 


CONGRESS    OF    GRECIAN    STATES 


303 


and  States  who  were  determined  to  fight  for  their  liber- 
ties. It  was  agreed  among  them  to  send  representa- 
tives to  a  Congress  or  assembly,  to  confer  upon  the 
ways  and  means  to  promote  the  object  in  view.  Themis- 
tocles was  largely  instrumental  in  bringing  about  this 
union,  and  pleaded  with  all  the  representatives  that 
what  was  most  essential  to  success  was  harmony.  He 
pointed  out  that  all  dissensions  must  be  dropped,  intes- 
tine wars  suspended  and  that  Greece,  if  it  would  win, 
must  present  to  Persia  a  united  front. 

The  place  finally  agreed  upon  as  most  suitable  for 
the  assembling  of  the  delegates  was  the  City  of  Corinth. 
It  was  situated  upon  the  isthmus  connecting  the  Pelo- 
ponnese with  Central  Greece.  It  was  convenient  not 
only  to  Sparta  and  Athens,  but  all  routes  by  land  and 
sea,  from  both  sides  of  the  Greek  peninsula  by  which  all 
parts  of  Hellas  could  be  speedily  reached,  converged  at 
this  narrowest  part  of  the  isthmus.  At  Corinth,  there- 
fore, the  delegates  assembled.  Athens,  for  the  sake  of 
harmony,  laid  aside  all  claim  to  leadership  and  con- 
sented that  the  Presidency  of  the  assembly  might  be 
conferred  upon  Sparta,  although  Athens,  through  the 
efforts  of  Themistocles,  the  most  energetic  and  con- 
spicuous man  in  Greece,  was  entitled  to  credit,  for 
bringing  into  existence  this  important  Congress.  Skill 
and  diplomacy  of  a  high  order  were  necessary  to  pre- 
serve unity,  for  Athens  was  at  war  with  JSgina.  Argos 
had  been  at  war  with  Sparta,  in  which  six  thousand  of 
her  citizens  had  been  slain ;  Corinth  had  also  been  hos- 
tile to  -^gina;  Sparta  was  hostile  also  to  democratic 
Athens.  The  task  for  the  statesmen,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  unite  Greece  and  resist  the  invasion  of  Persia  was  to 
bring  tranquillity  out  of  the  military  commotion  and  the 
hostile  dissensions  which  had  disturbed  the  Greek  cities 
and  states.  For  the  sake  of  harmony,  and  to  secure 
unity  in  the  face  of  a  foreign  foe,  it  was  finally  agreed 
that  all  wars  and  feuds  for  the  present,  at  least,  should 


304 


MIMTAEY   ANNALS   OF    OBEECE 


cease,  and  that  the  confederacy  should  unite  to  secure 
aid  to  carry  on  military  operations  against  the  Persian 
invaders. 

The  first  resolution  adopted  by  the  Confederacy  was 
designed  to  punish  those  Hellenes  who,  without  compul- 
sion, gave  in  their  adherence  to  Persia.  Each  member 
took  an  oath  binding  upon  the  city  or  state  he  repre- 
sented, that  as  soon  as  order  was  restored  those  Greeks 
who  had  sent  earth  and  water  to  Xerxes,  should  be 
compelled  to  pay  a  tithe  to  the  god  at  Delphi.  Whether 
this  particular  form  of  punishment  designed  to  enrich 
the  oracle,  or  priestess  of  the  temple,  who  would  be  the 
nominal  recipient  of  the  fine,  was  conceived  with  the 
idea  of  bribing  the  oracle,  so  that  favorable  responses 
should  be  received  by  the  patriotic  Greeks  when  the 
oracle  was  consulted,  we  do  not  know.  The  responses, 
however,  just  before  the  battle  of  Salamis,  were  out- 
rageous, and  portended  all  sorts  of  dire  calamities  to 
the  Greeks.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  master  mind  of 
Themistocles,  who  insisted  on  giving  to  the  riddles  of 
the  oracle  an  interpretation  favorable  to  his  country, 
when  every  one  else  construed  them  as  portending  dis- 
aster, the  Athenians  might  have  fled  ignominiously  be- 
fore Xerxes  and  migrated  to  Italy. 

When  the  Assembly  learned  that  Xerxes  was  in  Sar- 
dis  with  a  mighty  army,  they  sent  spies  to  Asia  to  dis- 
cover the  true  state  of  affairs.  They  resolved  also  to 
send  ambassadors  or  envoys  to  Argos,  to  conclude  an 
alliance  against  Persia;  another  to  Sicily  to  King 
Gelon;  another  embassy  to  Corcyra,  and  another  to 
Crete,  begging  their  countrymen  to  come  to  the  assist- 
ance of  Greece. 

When  the  three  spies  came  to  Sardis,  they  were  de- 
tected, seized  and  sentenced  to  death.  But  before  the 
decree  was  executed,  Xerxes  heard  of  it,  and  sent  for 
the  spies.  He  inquired  if  they  came  to  find  out  the  mili- 
tary strength  of  the  Persians  and  then  commanded  the 


CONDUCT   OP    CRETE,    SICIIiY   AND    COECYBA        305 

guards  to  show  them  all  the  infantry  and  cavalry  which 
composed  his  great  army,  and  then  released  them,  in 
order  that  they  might  go  back  and  tell  their  country- 
men that  the  arms  of  Xerxes  were  invincible. 

The  endeavor  of  the  envoys  to  secure  aid  from  Sicily, 
from  Corcyra  and  from  Crete,  came  to  nothing.  The 
Argives  demanded  as  a  condition  to  an  active  alliance 
against  Persia,  that  the  Lacedaemonians  should  enter 
into  a  thirty  years'  truce  with  them.  This  was  denied 
and  the  Argives  refused  to  enter  into  an  active  alliance. 

Gelon  of  Sicily  agreed  to  furnish  a  formidable  fleet 
and  a  numerous  army,  but  only  upon  condition  that  he 
should  be  assigned  to  the  sole  command  of  all  the  allied 
forces.  This  demand  was  refused.  Gelon  then  modi- 
fied his  request  and  said  he  would  be  content  if  he  were 
given  command  of  the  fleet  or  the  land  forces.  "  If 
then,"  he  said  to  the  ambassadors,  "  you  choose  to  com- 
mand the  army,  I  will  command  the  fleet,  or  if  it  please 
you  rather  to  have  command  at  sea,  I  will  lead  the  land 
forces,  and  you  must  either  be  content  with  these  terms, 
or  return  destitute  of  such  allies."  The  ambassadors, 
however,  told  Gelon  that  they  did  not  come  to  secure 
a  general,  but  to  secure  troops.  That  as  to  the  fleet, 
the  Athenians  would  command  it  unless  the  Spartans 
desired  to,  but  that  they  would  never  cede  to  any  one 
but  the  Spartans  the  command  of  the  navy.  No  aid, 
therefore,  was  sent  from  Sicily. 

When  the  envoys  went  to  Corcyra,  they  were  prom- 
ised aid.  They  assured  the  delegates  that  they  could 
not  look  on  and  see  Greece  ruined.  They  manned  sixty 
ships,  but  instead  of  sending  them  to  aid  the  Athenian 
and  Spartan  fleet,  they  anchored  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  bay  of  Pylus,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Peloponnese. 
Their  object  was  to  espouse  whichever  side  won.  If  the 
Persians,  then  these  traitors  were  prepared  to  say  that 
while  they  were  asked  to  take  sides  against  them,  they 
declined.     If  the  Greeks  won,  they  were  prepared  to 


1 


?  .;■ 


3o6 


MlUTAEY  ANNALS   OF    GREECB 


plead  with  their  countrymen  that  they  "  were  unable  to 
double  cape  Malea,  by  reason  of  the  eastern  winds,"  and 
were,  for  this  reason  unable  to  reach  Salamis,  and  it 
was  not  their  fault  that  they  took  no  part  in  the  battle. 

When  the  Cretans  were  approached  to  join  the  league, 
they  sent  persons  in  the  name  of  the  commonwealth  to 
consult  the  oracle  at  Delphi,  but  the  answer  of  the 
Pythian  was  altogether  unfavorable,  intimating  that 
the  Cretans  would  be  fools  to  do  so.  The  Pythian, 
therefore,  checked  the  inclination  of  these  superstitious 
people  in  their  desire  to  assist  the  Greeks.  The  Thes- 
salians,  however,  stood  in  a  different  position  than  any 
of  the  others.  They  dwelt  upon  the  northern  frontiers, 
and  their  country  extended  to  the  lofty  mountain 
ranges  of  Pelion  and  Olympus,  between  which  the 
Peneus  flows  into  the  sea,  through  the  Vale  of  Tempe. 
This  mountain  gorge  is  the  gateway  into  Greece, 
through  which  the  army  of  Xerxes  must  enter.  The 
Thessalians,  therefore,  would  feel  the  first  impact  of  the 
hostile  armies.  Their  forces  were  altogether  inade- 
quate, and  were  insignificant  when  compared  with  the 
Persians.  The  Thessalians,  therefore,  sent  ambassa- 
dors to  the  isthmus,  who  appeared  before  the  council, 
and  told  them  that  it  was  necessary  to  guard  the  pass 
at  Olympus,  that  Thessaly  and  all  Greece  might  be  shel- 
tered from  the  war.  They  said  they  were  ready  and 
willing  to  guard  it,  but  the  Council  must  send  thither 
an  adequate  force.  They  further  declared  that  if  no 
army  was  sent,  they,  of  necessity,  would  be  obliged  to 
come  to  terms  with  the  Persians,  because  it  would  be 
unjust  that  they  should  be  left  to  perish  alone,  without 
defense,  or  aid,  from  the  other  states  of  Greece. 

It  was  resolved,  accordingly,  to  send  an  army  into 
Thessaly  to  guard  the  pass.  Ten  thousand  heavy 
armed  troops  were  mustered  composed  of  Spartans  and 
Athenians.  The  former  under  Euaenetus,  the  latter 
under  Themistocles.     They  sailed  through  the  Euripus 


GREEKS    WITHDRAW    FROM    TEMPE 


307 


and  the  straits  of  Euboea,  into  the  gulf  of  Malis,  and 
north  into  the  Gulf  of  Pagasaeus,  between  Achaia,  and 
the  Peninsula  of  Magnesia.  The  army  disembarked  at 
Alus  in  Achaia,  and  marched  thence  north  into  Thes- 
saly to  the  river  Peneus,  and  the  Vale  of  Tempe,  which 
is  tlie  gateway  from  Macedonia,  into  Thessaly.  The 
army  remained,  however,  but  a  short  time.  They  re- 
ceived word  from  Alexander  of  Macedonia,  that  the 
army  of  Xerxes  was  so  formidable,  that  an  attempt  to 
prevent  its  entry  into  Greece  would  be  futile,  especially 
as  the  army  was  accompanied  by  a  formidable  fleet,  and 
an  attempt  to  guard  the  pass  would  subject  the  de- 
fenders to  attacks  from  the  rear,  by  troops  landed  on 
the  shore  below  the  pass.  Also  for  the  reason  that  a 
passage  could  be  made  a  short  distance  north  of  the 
Peneus  at  another  pass  near  Gonnus.  The  Macedo- 
nians seemed  well  disposed  towards  the  Greeks,  and  the 
latter  finally  concluded  that  the  advice  was  good  and 
withdrew,  and  then  determined  to  defend  Greece  at  the 
pass  of  Thermopylae.  This  occurred  while  Xerxes  was 
at  Abydos,  before  he  had  crossed  the  Hellespont.  Un- 
der these  circumstances,  nothing  was  left  for  the  Thes- 
salians to  do  but  to  make  terms  with  the  Medes. 

When  the  Greeks  abandoned  the  pass  at  the  Vale  of 
Tempe,  they  returned  as  speedily  as  possible  to  the 
isthmus.  The  gateway  into  Thessaly,  through  the  pass 
at  Mount  Olympus,  was  thus  left  open.  The  Thessa- 
lians were  too  weak  to  defend  it  alone.  It  was  certain, 
therefore,  that  Xerxes  would  meet  with  no  obstacle  to 
prevent  his  entry  into  Greece.  The  invader,  with  count- 
less hosts  on  land,  and  a  strong  fleet  at  sea,  would,  in 
a  comparatively  short  time,  be  in  Central  Greece,  at  the 
doors  of  Athens.  Never,  however,  did  Athens  and 
Sparta,  or  their  allies,  falter  in  their  determination  to 
resist  the  foe.  The  numerical  strength  of  the  army  of 
Xerxes  or  the  vast  number  of  his  ships,  and  the  com- 
parative weakness  of  the  defenders,  does  not  seem  to 


I!  II 


3o8 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


have  been  taken  into  consideration  as  a  factor  in  dis- 
cussing the  situation.  The  only  question  considered  in 
council  was  as  to  the  most  available  place  to  meet  the 
foe.  The  opinion  finally  prevailed  that  the  Greeks 
should  defend  the  pass  at  Thermopylae,  as  it  appeared 
to  be  narrower  even  than  that  into  Thessaly.  They  de- 
fended the  pass  and  posterity  knows  the  result. 

It  was  resolved  also  to  fight  the  enemy  both  by  land 
and  sea.  As  the  path  at  the  foot  of  the  precipitous 
chfFs  which  form  the  sides  of  Mount  (Eta  is  washed  by 
the  waters  of  the  Grulf  of  Malis,  directly  west  of  Ar- 
temisium,  on  the  northern  shores  of  the  island  of  Euboea, 
it  was  agreed  to  send  a  fleet  through  the  Euripus  and 
the  straits  of  EubcEa  to  the  strait  between  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  Magnesia,  and  this  coast 
called  Artemisium,  to  prevent  the  Persians  from  com- 
manding the  Euripus,  which  commands  the  channel  of 
Euboea,  and  constitutes  the  inside  passage  by  sea  to 
the  Saronic  j^lf.  To  this  fleet  the  chief  command  of 
the  naval  forces  was  given  to  the  Spartan  Eurybiades, 
but  the  Athenian  vessels  were  commanded  by  Themis- 
tocles,  who  shared  with  the  Spartan  the  command  of 
the  fleet. 

In  the  preceding  chapters  is  given  an  account  of  the 
march  of  Xerxes  from  Abydos.  It  will  be  necessary 
to  complete  the  narrative  to  note  the  advance  through 
Thrace  and  Macedonia,  to  Thessaly,  and  south  to  Ther- 
mopylae, and  thence  to  Athens  and  Salamis.  The  sub- 
sequent defeat  of  Mardonius  at  Plataea,  and  of  the 
Persian  fleet  at  Mycale,  B.  C.  489,  concluded  the  Sec- 
ond Persian  War,  and  established  the  independence  of 
Greece. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

ADVANCE  OF  XERXES  THROUGH  THRACE,  MACE- 
DONIA, AND  THE  VALE  OF  TEMPE 


HE  previous  chapter  contains  an  account  of 
the  preparations  which  the  Greeks  made  to 
receive  the  Persian  army,  which  was  advan- 
cing to  subjugate  Hellas.  Tidings  of  the 
anticipated  invasion  reached  Athens,  long 
before  Xerxes  sent  his  heralds  from  Sardis,  demand- 
ing from  the  Greeks  earth  and  water,  as  tokens  of  sub- 
mission to  his  rule.  As  has  been  observed,  the  plan  to 
engage  the  Persian  army  in  the  Vale  of  Tempe,  the  en- 
trance into  Thessaly  had  been  abandoned  before  Xerxes 
had  quitted  Abydos.  The  Council  assembled  on  the 
isthmus  of  Corinth  finally  concluded  to  engage  Xerxes 
at  Thermopylae. 

After  the  grand  review  at  Doriscus,  the  Persians  ad- 
vanced in  three  main  columns  or  divisions,  one  skirt- 
ing near  the  coast  of  the  Sea  of  Thrace,  or  upper 
-^gean  at  times  within  sight  of  the  fleet ;  another  many 
miles  inland,  and  the  remaining  division  with  the  Per- 
sian monarch  at  its  head,  midway  between  the  two. 
The  army  in  turn  passed  many  cities,  and  crossed 
numerous  streams  and  rivers,  flowing  south  into  the 
-^gean.  Among  them  the  Lissus,  and  the  Nestus,  which 
latter  forms  the  boundary  between  Thrace  and  Paeonia, 
which  afterwards  was  embraced  in  the  Kingdom  of 
Macedonia.  When  the  Strymon  was  reached,  the  Per- 
sians marched  by  the  Nine  Ways  of  the  Edonians,  to 
the  bridge  thrown  across  the  river  at  that  point  by  the 
engineers  whom  Xerxes  had  ordered  to  dig  the  canal 

309 


3IO 


MILTTAEY   ANNALS   OP    GREECE 


across  the  extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  Acte,  to  avoid 
the  necessity  of  doubling  the  rocky  promontory  of 
Mount  Athos,  where  the  fleet  of  the  first  expedition  sent 
out  by  Darius  against  Greece  was  wrecked  B.  C.  492. 
At  the  place  where  this  bridge  was  erected,  known  as  the 
Nine  Ways,  a  colony  of  Athenians  afterwards  founded 
the  city  of  Amphipolis,  which  was  taken  by  Brasidas  in 
the  ninth  year  of  the  Peloponnesian  War.  The  army 
then  advancing  westward  crossed  the  Echedorus,  in 
Macedonia,  which  flows  south  into  the  Thermaic  Gulf, 
a  few  miles  west  of  Therma  (Thessalonica) ;  they 
crossed  also  the  Axius,  the  Haliacmon,  and  the  Baphy- 
ras,  in  Pieria,  about  eighteen  miles  north  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Peneus,  which  flows  through  the  Vale  of  Tempe 
into  the  sea,  through  which  valley  Xerxes  at  first  con- 
templated his  march  into  Thessaly. 

The  first  objective  point  after  leaving  Doriscus  was 
Acanthus  on  the  easterly  shore  of  the  Chalcidian  penin- 
sula, which  extends  into  the  ^gean  between  the  Ther- 
maic Gulf,  on  the  west,  and  the  Gulf  of  Strymon,  on  the 
east.  Thence  the  army  advanced  northwesterly  across 
the  peninsula  (about  sixty  miles  in  a  direct  line)  to 
Therma,  a  city  at  the  head  of  the  Thermaic  Gulf,  the 
waters  of  which  separate  the  Chalcidian  peninsula  from 
the  eastern  coasts  of  Macedonia,  Thessaly  and  the  pen- 
insula of  Magnesia.  When  the  two  divisions  of  the 
army  reached  Therma,  they  halted  until  the  third  divi- 
sion should  arrive.  The  route  assigned  to  this  division 
led  through  a  wild  mountainous  country,  covered  in 
many  places  by  dense  forests.  Their  march  was  conse- 
quently delayed  until  the  axmen  detailed  for  that  pur- 
pose could  fell  the  timber  on  the  Macedonian  range  to 
enable  the  baggage  trains  to  pass  through.  The  naval 
forces  of  the  expedition  collected  at  the  head  of  the 
Gulf  of  Therma,  and  about  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Axius. 

Herodotus  refers  to  the  fauna  whose  habitat  was  in 


IN  The  mountains  of  Macedonia 


311 


that  part  of  Europe  in  the  fifth  century  B.  C.  He  tells 
us  that  the  country  between  the  river  Nestus,  in  Thrace, 
and  the  river  Achelous  which  flows  through  Acarnania 
and  ^tolia  into  the  Ionian  Sea,  was  infested  with  Hons 
and  wild  bulls.  He  declares  that  no  one  ever  saw  a  lion 
east  of  the  Nestus  or  west  of  the  Achelous.  The  lion, 
like  the  horse,  cannot  endure  the  sight  or  smell  of  a 
camel.  A  horse,  if  placed  to  their  windward,  becomes 
unmanageable,  as  did  the  Lydian  cavalry  of  Croesus 
when  assailed  by  Cyrus  on  the  plain  at  Sardis.  A  lion 
in  like  manner  becomes  infuriated  at  the  approach  ol 
a  camel.  While  the  troops  of  Xerxes  were  advancing 
through  the  mountain  regions  of  Macedonia,  the  lions 
fell  upon  the  camels  that  carried  the  provisions  and 
accompanied  the  baggage  train.  They  came  by  night 
leaving  their  dens  in  the  mountains,  and  seized  upon 
the  camels.  The  beasts  of  burden  and  drivers  accom- 
panying the  train  were  not  molested,  and  escaped  the 
fury  of  these  formidable  beasts  of  prey. 

While  awaiting  the  concentration  of  his  forces  at 
Therma,  Xerxes  determined  to  visit  the  pass  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Peneus.  From  Therma  was  visible  the 
snow-capped  peaks  of  Pelion  and  Olympus.  Between 
these  mountain  ranges,  the  Peneus  flows  through  a 
narrow  gorge  from  the  plains  of  Thessaly  into  the 
Thermaic  Gulf.  This  pass,  with  its  charming  scenery 
and  romantic  beauty  is  known  as  the  Vale  of  Tempe, 
the  gateway  from  Macedonia  into  Greece.  The  dis- 
tance from  Therma  to  the  mouth  of  the  Peneus,  as  the 
crow  flies,  is  about  fifty  miles.  From  this  point  about 
eighty  miles  south,  on  the  Gulf  of  Malis,  against  the 
precipitous  walls  of  Mount  (Eta,  is  the  famous  pass 
of  Thermopylae. 

Xerxes  accompanied  by  his  fleet  sailed  southwest 
through  the  Thermaic  Gulf  to  the  mouth  of  the  Peneus, 
and  ordered  his  guides  to  examine  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity, to  ascertain  if  there  was  any  other  outlet  from  the 


f 

II 


312 


MIUTABT   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


low  plains  of  Thessaly,  through  the  mountains  to  the 
sea,  save  only  the  channel  of  the  Peneus.  Finding  there 
was  none,  he  observed  that  it  would  be  easy  to  take 
Thessaly  which  lay  like  the  bed  of  a  dry  basin  or  lake 
shut  in  from  the  sea,  by  lofty  walls  of  mountains.  All 
that  would  be  necessary,  he  suggested,  would  be  to  dam 
the  mouth  of  the  Peneus  and  force  its  waters  back,  and 
thus  inundate  the  plains  of  Thessaly. 

This  engineering  feat  to  reduce  Thessaly  was  doubt- 
less suggested  to  Xerxes  by  the  memory  of  the  clever 
strategy  of  his  maternal  grandfather,  Cyrus  the  Great, 
who,  in  order  to  reduce  Babylon,  deflected  the  course 
of  the  Euphrates,  which  flowed  through  the  city,  and 
under  its  massive  gates.  When  the  trench  was  com- 
pleted, the  waters  were  turned  into  the  new  channel  dug 
for  it  by  the  army  of  Cyrus,  at  night-fall.  The  waters 
began  to  recede  from  that  part  of  its  ancient  bed  within 
the  city.  Nothing  prevented  the  Persians,  when  the 
bed  of  the  stream  was  drained,  from  entering  the  city 
under  the  gates  which  spanned  the  dry  channel,  instead 
of  a  broad  stream.  Thus  Cyrus  took  Babylon  and  slew 
Belshazzar  in  his  palace  (B.  C.  538).  Emulating  the 
deeds  of  Cyrus,  Xerxes,  in  like  manner,  directed  a  canal 
to  be  cut  across  the  extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  Acte, 
through  which  his  fleet  sailed,  and  thereby  escaped  the 
necessity  of  doubling  the  rocky  promontory  of  Mount 
Athos,  where  the  fleet,  sent  out  by  his  father  Darius, 
perished  twelve  years  before. 

Xerxes,  however,  determined  not  to  enter  Greece 
through  the  valley  of  the  Peneus  and  the  Vale  of  Tempe, 
but  by  an  upper  road,  through  the  country  of  the 
Perrhaebi,  in  Macedonia,  through  another  pass,  near 
Gonnus,  which  he  was  informed  was  the  safest  way. 
This  city  is  a  very  short  distance  north  of  the  Peneus. 
The  axmen  were  obliged  to  open  the  way  through  the 
forests  of  the  mountains  of  Pieria,  through  which 
Xerxes,  after  leaving  Therma,  marched  his  army.     He 


XEEXES    AT    TEACHIS 


313 


entered  Thessaly  near  Gonnus,  and  proceeded  thence 
south  through  Achaia,  and  came  into  the  territory  of 
Malis,  on  the  Gulf  of  Malis,  and  encamped  at  Trachis, 
about  Rve  miles  west  of  the  western  entrance  to  the  pass 
of  Thermopylae.  Trachis  is  situated  on  a  plain,  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  high  and  impassable  mountains 
called  the  Trachinian  rocks,  which  enclose  the  territory 
of  Malis.  Through  this  plain  four  rivers  find  their 
way  among  the  mountains,  flowing  easterly  into  the 
gulf  of  Malis.  The  two  most  northerly  are  the  Sper- 
chius  and  the  Dyras ;  south  of  these  flow  the  Melas  and 
the  Asopos.  The  City  of  Trachis,  where  Xerxes  en- 
camped, is  situated  between  these  last  named.  South 
of  Trachis  there  is  a  ravine,  through  which  the  Asopus 
winds  its  course  along  the  base  of  Mount  (Eta.  The 
distance  between  the  Melas  and  Asopus  is  less  than  two 
miles.  The  camp  of  Xerxes  at  Trachis  was  less  than 
a  mile  south  of  the  Melas.  Here  in  August,  B.  C.  480, 
Xerxes  assembled  his  army,  the  most  formidable  ever 
assembled.  His  fleet  was  proceeding  south  through  the 
Thermaic  Gulf,  directly  towards  Artemisia,  which  lies 
on  the  northern  coast  of  the  island  of  Euboea,  which 
lies  immediately  west  of  the  gulf  of  Malis.  The  cam- 
paign opened  with  the  land  and  naval  engagements  at 
Thermopylae  and  Artemisia,  which  will  now  be  con- 
sidered. 


Ill 


M '. 


( 


h 


I ; 


*  f 


"  I 


CHAPTER    XX 

THERMOPYLAE 

THERMOPYL^  —  Ther-mop-i-Ie  —  [  Qep/wrvXai] .  A  narrow 
pass  in  Locris  between  the  Gulf  of  Malis  and  the  precipitous 
wall  of  rock  on  the  side  of  Mount  CEta,  which  forms  an  opening 
or  gateway  into  Central  Greece.  It  is  seventy-six  miles  south 
of  the  Vale  of  Tempe,  a  park  leading  to  a  gorge  through  the 
mountain  ranges  of  Olympus  and  Ossa  in  Thessaly.  In  Au- 
gust B.  C.  480,  Leonidas,  with  his  Spartans  and  Thespians,  per- 
ished, defending  the  pass  against  the  hosts  of  Xerxes. 

HE  first  campaign  (B.  C.  480)  in  the  Second 
Persian  War  embraced  three  notable  engage- 
ments, one  on  land,  and  two  on  sea,  namely 
Thermopylae,  Artemisia  and  Salamis.  At 
Thermopylae,  three  hundred  Lacedaemonians 
commanded  by  Leonidas,  King  of  Sparta,  and  seven 
hundred  Thespians,  remained  in  the  pass,  after  the 
other  Greeks,  who  had  survived  the  first  part  of  the  en- 
gagement had  been  bidden  to  depart,  and  voluntarily 
sacrificed  their  lives  in  the  bloody  defile  between  the  in- 
accessible cliffs  of  Mount  (FAa.  and  the  waters  of  the 
gulf  of  Malis,  defending  the  pass  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  on  the  edge  of  the  sea,,  against  an  army  of 
invaders  numbering  more  than  two  millions,  commanded 
by  Xerxes,  the  ruler  of  the  Persian  empire. 

The  pass  at  Thermopylje  docs  not  now  present  the 
appearance  it  did  at  the  time  of  the  Second  Persian 
War.  The  topography  has  changed  considerably  in 
recent  centuries.  The  waters  of  the  Malic  Gulf,  which 
formerly  approached  within  a  few  feet  of  the  base  of 
Mount  (Eta,  has  receded  more  than  a  mile,  and  what 
was  once  a  morass  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  is  now 

314 


THEEMOPYliAE 


315 


an  open  plain,  marshy  in  places  during  the  Spring  of 
the  year.  In  many  localities  the  mountain  slopes  have 
been  denuded  of  timber,  and  the  open  spots  are  under 
cultivation.  Many  of  the  minor  streams  have  changed 
their  courses  or  have  entirely  disappeared.  At  the  time 
the  battle  was  fought,  the  pass  was  at  the  foot  of  ver- 
tical walls  of  rock  formed  by  the  precipitous  cliff^s  on 
the  side  of  Mount  CEta,  on  one  side,  which  rose  abruptly 
almost  from  the  water.  On  the  other  side  of  the  nar- 
row roadway,  the  shallow  waters  of  the  gulf  formed  an 
extensive  swamp  or  marsh.  The  pass  was  about  a  mile 
long  and  varied  in  width.  At  its  extremities  the  rocks 
almost  touched  the  water.  At  these  points  the  foot- 
path was  less  than  twenty  feet  wide.  The  entrance  and 
exit  at  the  ends  were  termed  the  pylae,  or  gates.  There 
are  thermal  springs  in  the  pass.  Hence  the  name  Ther- 
mopylae, "  Plot  Gates." 

Near  the  western  end  of  the  pass  the  Phocians  in 
early  times  had  constructed  a  wall  with  strong  gates 
to  keep  out  their  enemies,  the  Thessalians.  Behind  this 
wall  was  a  hillock  or  knoll.  The  Greeks  on  arriving  at 
Thermopylae  repaired  the  wall  and  strengthened  the 
gates  in  anticipation  of  the  struggle  to  force  the  pass. 

In  the  previous  chapter  it  is  shown  why  no  attempt 
was  made  to  prevent  the  army  of  Xerxes  from  entering 
Greece  through  the  Vale  of  Tempe.  The  Spartans,  in 
July,  about  the  time  of  the  celebration  of  the  Olympian 
games,  and  before  Xerxes  had  left  Therma,  sent  for- 
ward their  King  Leonidas,  who  claimed  direct  lineage 
from  Hercules,  with  a  comparatively  small  army  to  hold 
the  pass,  on  the  gulf  of  Malis  against  the  invading 
Persian  hosts,  until  the  termination  of  the  Olympian 
games,  and  the  celebration  of  the  festival  in  honor  of 
the  Carneian  Apollo,  which  followed.  It  was  intended 
as  soon  as  the  sacred  exercises  were  over,  to  send  a 
strong  army  of  Peloponnesians  to  relieve  Leonidas, 
whom  they  considered  abundantly  able  to  hold  the  pass 


Hi 


.1 


316 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


for  the  required  period.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
forces  of  Xerxes  were  accompanied  by  a  formidable 
fleet,  it  was  also  arranged  to  send  a  squadron,  under 
Eurybiades  and  Themistocles,  to  guard  the  gulf  of 
Malis,  the  Euripus  and  the  straits  of  Eubcea,  and  pre- 
vent the  entry  of  the  Persians,  both  by  land  and  sea. 

The  Greek  forces  numbered  perhaps  less  than  7,000 
men  as  follows: 

Spartans    300 

Tegeans  and  Mantineans 1,000 

From    Orchomenus   in   Arcadia 120 

**      the  rest  of  Arcadia 1,000 

"      Corinth     400 

**      Phlius    200 

"      Mycen«    60 

Thespians    from    Boeotia 700 

Thebans    (hdd   as   hostages) ,[ 400 

Phocians     1,000 

Opuntian  Locrians  (number  not  given) * 

Total   Greek   forces 5,200 

Estimating  the  Locrians  at  1,600  the  army  of  Leoni- 
das  did  not  exceed  7,000  men.  This  estimate  is  exclusive 
of  the  Helots,  the  slaves  who  usually  accompanied  their 
Lacedaemonian  masters  in  war.  Herodotus  mentions 
the  fact  that  many  were  included  among  the  slain  at 
Thermopylae.  The  number  of  Helots  is  variously  esti- 
mated. They  did  not  exceed  2,100,  namely,  seven  to 
each  Spartan. 

When  Leonidas  quitted  the  isthmus  he  believed  that 
the  pass  of  Thermopylae  was  the  only  entrance  by  which 
an  army  could  enter  Central  Greece.  He  did  not  know 
that  there  was  an  unfrequented  pathway  over  Mount 
CEta,  commencing  near  Trachis,  winding  along  the  tor- 
tuous banks  of  the  Asopos,  which  flowed  among  rocky 
defiles  near  the  base  of  the  mountain,  thence  leading 
northward  to  its  summit,  and  descending  the  precipi- 
tous side  of  (Eta,  to  the  pass  near  its  eastern  entrance. 


MEDES    OBDEBED    TO   ATTACK 


317 


in  the  rear  of  the  western  gate  where  the  Greeks  were 
posted.  The  Phocians,  however,  were  aware  of  its  ex- 
istence. When  they  joined  the  main  body  from  the 
Peloponnesus,  they  informed  Leonidas  about  it.  At 
their  request,  he  posted  them  near  the  summit  of  CEta, 
to  guard  it,  and  prevent  surprise.  Some  of  the  troops 
consisting  of  a  small  percentage  of  the  army,  when 
facing  the  camp  of  Xerxes,  realized  that  without  im- 
mediate assistance,  they  were  too  few  to  resist  the  hosts 
of  Persia,  and  advised  their  leader  to  retire  to  the  Pel- 
oponnese,  and  guard  the  isthmus.  The  Locrians  and 
Phocians,  whose  territory  was  immediately  menaced, 
protested  vigorously.  Leonidas  decided  to  defend  the 
pass,  and  despatched  couriers  to  summon  immediate 
assistance. 

Meantime,  Xerxes  from  his  camp  at  Trachis,  sent  his 
scouts  to  ascertain  the  exact  number  of  the  insignificant 
body  who  had  the  temerity  to  resist  the  myriads  which 
he  had  brought  to  enslave  Greece  and  avenge  Marathon. 
When  apprised  of  the  facts,  and  told  that  the  strength 
of  the  army  of  Leonidas  did  not  exceed  7,000,  he  could 
not  credit  the  rumor  that  the  enemy  was  serious  in 
their  determination  to  engage  the  Persians,  and  allowed 
four  days  to  pass  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to  re- 
treat or  surrender.  But  the  enemy  was  steadfast. 
Xerxes  again  consulted  with  the  Spartan  exile,  Demara- 
tus,  as  he  had  previously  done  at  Doriscus,  and  was 
told  that  the  Spartans  would  never  abandon  their  posts, 
while  one  of  them  remained  alive.  On  the  fifth  day 
Xerxes,  with  haughty  arrogance,  ordered  a  powerful 
body  of  Medes,  who  had  fought  with  Datis  at  Mara- 
thon, to  advance  to  the  mouth  of  the  defile,  take  the 
rash  men  from  the  pass,  and  bring  them  or  as  many 
as  survived,  should  they  resist,  into  his  presence. 
Xerxes,  as  at  Salamis,  determined  to  witness  the  execu- 
tion of  his  order,  and  see  the  capture  of  the  enemy. 
He  caused  a  throne  to  be  erected  near  the  mouth  of  the 


3i8 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


pass,  on  a  rocky  eminence  from  which  to  witness  the 
assault  of  the  Medes. 

The  first  contact  proved  to  the  son  of  Darius  that 
Demaratus  had  spoken  the  truth,  when  he  said  that  the 
Greeks  would  die,  but  never  surrender.  They  advanced 
into  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  pass  beyond  the 
Phocian  wall  to  meet  the  assault.  The  struggle  resulted 
in  dreadful  carnage.  Thousands  of  Persians  were 
slain,  although  the  officers  again  and  again  drove  with 
the  lash  their  military  slaves  against  the  spears  and 
pikes  of  the  enemy.  The  mouth  of  the  pass  was  filled 
with  bleeding  corpses,  and  at  the  close  of  the  day  the 
Medes  retreated  having  suff^ered  overwhelming  defeat. 

Xerxes,  in  despair,  on  the  following  day,  ordered 
into  action  his  10,000  "  Immortals,"  the  flower  of  his 
army,  held  in  the  esteem  of  their  sovereign  as  the 
apple  of  his  eye,  as  Napoleon,  centuries  later,  threw  the 
Old  Guard  against  the  columns  of  Blucher  at  Ligny, 
and  of  Wellington  at  Waterloo.  All  day  long  from 
his  improvised  throne,  Xerxes  saw  his  cherished  "  Im- 
mortals "  perish.  Three  times  he  sprang  from  his  seat, 
in  alarm  for  the  safety  of  his  army.  In  vain  the  picked 
body  of  Persians,  clad  in  light  tunics,  armed  with  short 
swords,  charged  again  and  again,  and  melted  away,  as 
they  were  hurled  against  the  pikes  and  long  spears  of 
the  Greeks,  clad  in  greaves  of  steel  and  breast-plates 
of  brass.  Their  javelins  and  arrows  availed  but  little 
against  the  armor  and  shields  of  the  enemy.  The  mouth 
of  the  pass  was  narrow,  and  superiority  of  numbers 
gave  little  or  no  advantage  to  the  charging  masses. 
Thousands  of  strong  men  were  ordered  to  be  posted 
in  the  rear  of  the  broken,  flying  masses  of  Persian 
slaves,  and  drove  them  forward  with  scourge  and  lash, 
to  certain  death  against  the  pikes  of  steel,  in  the  hands 
of  trained  athletes.  To  advance  was  death,  to  retreat 
was  to  meet  a  similar  fate,  at  the  hands  of  their  own 
troops.  So  they  died  of  spear-thrust  or  sword-cut^  or 


HYDAENES    BEACHES    THE    PASS 


319 


were  trampled  to  death  among  the  bloody  corpses  that 
covered  the  narrow  approach  to  the  fatal  pass  on  the 
edge  of  the  marsh,  at  the  foot  of  the  vertical  walls 
of  rock  that  formed  the  precipitous  sides  of  Mount 
(Eta. 

The  first  day  had  ended  in  gloom  and  disaster  for  the 
defeated  Persians.  The  second  day  was  a  repetition  of 
the  first.  The  alarm  and  anxiety  of  Xerxes  was  relieved 
late  on  the  second  day,  when  he  learned  that  ^phialtes, 
a  Malian  traitor,  agreed  to  betray  his  countrymen,  on 
receiving  from  the  Persians  the  price  of  his  treason. 
He  informed  Xerxes  of  the  secret  path  and  hidden  trail 
above  referred  to,  which  led  through  the  ravine,  which 
formed  the  bed  of  the  Asopos,  across  an  adjoining 
mountain,  over  the  heights  of  CEta,  and  descended  the 
opposite  slope,  to  the  shore  of  the  Malic  Gulf,  directly 
in  the  rear  of  the  eastern  gate  of  the  pass  of  Ther- 
mopylae. Xerxes  lost  no  time  in  availing  himself  of 
the  traitor's  services.  At  lamp-light,  Hydarnes,  at  the 
head  of  a  large  body  of  picked  men,  was  in  motion,  led 
by  /Ephialtes,  along  the  tortuous  paths  of  the  secret 
trail,  which  led  to  the  rear  of  the  position  of  Leonldas. 
At  dawn  the  Persians  had  reached  the  point  where  the 
Phocians  were  stationed  to  guard  the  mountain  road. 
They  were  Phocians,  however,  not  Spartans.  They 
were  overwhelmed,  and  to  save  their  lives,  forgetting 
their  comrades,  fled  to  a  stronger  position  in  the  hills, 
and  Hydarnes  was  master  of  the  pathway.  He  de- 
scended with  practically  no  opposition  to  the  rear  of 
the  Greeks. 

Leonidas,  who  had  learned  of  the  approach  of  Hy- 
darnes, at  dawn,  called  a  council  of  war.  Among  his 
troops  opinion  was  divided,  some  refusing  to  quit  their 
posts  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  others  advocated  retreat 
to  the  isthmus  to  guard  the  highway  to  the  Pelopon- 
nesus. The  Phocians  and  Locrians,  whose  territory 
was  immediately  in  the  path  of  the  advancing  Persians, 


I 


H' 


320 


MIUTAEY  ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


again,  as  at  the  first  council,  objected  strongly.  Leoni- 
das  determined  to  hold  the  pass  while  a  survivor  re- 
mained in  his  ranks.  He  bade  those  who  desired  to  quit 
the  field  depart,  and  leave  his  Spartans  to  fight  and  die. 
The  seven  hundred  patriotic  and  devoted  Thespians 
begged  the  honor  to  remain  and  die  with  the  Spartans 
in  mortal  combat. 

The  spirit  of  valor  that  hallowed  the  patriotic  devo- 
tion of  Leonidas  on  this  last  day  of  his  life,  when  he 
bade  those  who  desired  to  do  so,  to  quit  their  posts, 
doubtless  inspired  the  bard  of  Avon,  when  he  wrote  the 
stirring  drama  Henry  V.  The  English  sovereign  at 
Agincourt,  like  Leonidas  at  Thermopylae,  bade  those 
depart  who  had  no  stomach  for  the  fight  and  dismissed 
them  with  the  haughty  declaration: 

We  would  not  die  in  that  man's  company 
That  fears  his  fellowship  to  die  with  us. 

Leonidas,  in  whose  veins  ran  the  blood  of  Hercules, 
said  he  could  never  desert  the  post  he  was  assigned  to 
defend.  "  As  for  myself,  and  iny  fellow  Spartans,"  he 
said,  "  we  are  obliged  by  our  laws  not  to  fly ;  I  owe  my 
life  to  my  country,  and  it  is  now  my  duty  to  fall  in  its 
defence."  The  Spartans  had  been  told  by  the  priestess 
at  Delphi,  when  they  consulted  the  oracle,  before  they 
advanced  to  Thermopylee,  that  either  Sparta  must  fall 
by  the  arms  of  the  barbarians,  or  their  King,  descended 
from  Hercules,  must  perish.  The  answer  as  framed  by 
the  Pythoness  declared,  "O  inhabitants  of  spacious 
Lacedaemon,  either  your  vast  city  shall  be  destroyed  by 
men  sprung  from  Perseus,  or,  if  not  so,  the  confines  of 
Lacedflemon  mourn  a  King  deceased,  of  the  race  of  Her- 
cules." Leonidas  was  eager  to  achieve  the  honor  of 
saving  his  country  by  sacrificing  his  life  in  obedience  to 
her  laws. 

He  prepared  to  die  for  the  glory  of  Sparta.  He  did 
not  lead  a  forlorn  hope.     He  and  those  who  accom- 


SPAETANS    ANNIHILATED 


321 


panied  him  deliberately  remained  at  their  posts  till  every 
man  had  perished.  Thermopylae  was  to  be  their  tomb 
and  the  rocky  heights  of  Mount  (Eta  was  to  be  their 
monument,  a  mausoleum  piled  up  by  the  gods,  enduring 
while  earth  itself  endures.  He  was  eager  for  the  sac- 
rifice, and  advanced  his  men  from  the  rear  of  the 
Phocian  wall  which  spanned  the  narrow  pass  into  the 
open  part  of  the  defile.  Here  they  fought  till  all  their 
spears  and  pikes  were  shattered  and  broken.  With  the 
use  of  the  sword  they  continued  the  struggle.  When 
Leonidas  fell,  the  Persians  and  Greeks  contended  for 
his  body.  The  Spartans,  doubtless,  in  this  contest  over 
the  body  of  their  fallen  King,  were  inspired  by  the  ex- 
ample of  the  heroes  of  the  Iliad  on  the  plains  of  Troy, 
who  contended  with  the  Trojans  for  the  body  of  Sarpe- 
don  and  of  Patroclus.  The  Greeks  in  the  pass  that  day 
displayed  superior  courage  and  drove  back  the  enemy 
from  time  to  time,  until  the  body  of  their  King  was 
covered  and  piled  with  the  corpses  of  the  honored  dead. 
When  the  "  Immortals,"  under  Hydarnes,  entered  the 
eastern  gate  of  the  pass,  and  attacked  the  enemy  in  the 
rear,  the  plan  of  battle  changed.  The  besieged  with- 
drew behind  the  wall  to  the  hillock,  and  there  made  their 
last  stand.  With  lines  facing  both  attacking  bodies, 
the  survivors  of  Leonidas  fought  till  the  last  man  had 
perished.  No  mortal  arm  remained  to  lift  the  sword 
against  Persia. 


<c 


Dawn  bares  a  silver  sabre  in  the  east, 
A  million  blades  fast  follow  to  the  quest; 
But  now  the  day  is  o'er,  the  din  has  ceased. 
One  crimson  blade  waves  faintly  in  the  west."  * 


It  is  true  that  all  the  Spartans  who  were  engaged, 
fell  on  the  battle-field,  but  Herodotus  says  that  two 
hoplites,  of  the  three  hundred,  Eurytus  and  Aristode- 


*Thos.  E.  Burke. 


322 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GKEECE 


mus,  had  been  dismissed  from  the  camp  by  Leonidas, 

and  were  lying  at  Alpeni,  in  the  immediate  vicinity, 

desperately  afflicted  with  a  disease  of  the  eyes.     They 

disagreed,   as   to   whether,   blind   as   they   were,   they 

should  be  led  to  the  field  and  die  with  their  comrades, 

and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Sparta.     Eurytus  caUed  for 

his  armor,  and  having  put  it  on,  he  directed  his  helot 

to  lead  him  into  the  conflict.     The  helot  ran  away,  but 

Eurytus   perished.      Some   say   that   Aristodemus   was 

sent  as  a  messenger  from  the  army,  and  might  have 

returned  while  the  battle  was  in  progress ;    but  would 

not,  and  havmg  lingered  on  the  road,  survived,  while 

his  feUow-messenger  arrived  in  time  for  the  battle.^ 

When  Aristodemus  returned  to  Sparta,  he  met  with 
insults  and  derision,  and  was  declared  infamous,  and 
none  would  give  him  fire,  or  converse  with  him.     He 
was  called  "Aristodemus  the  coward."     In  order  to 
retrieve  his  honor,  he  led  in  the  charge  of  the  Tegeans 
and  Spartans  at  Plabea,  and  performed  feats  of  pro- 
digious valor.     While  in  pursuit  of  the  picked  cavalry 
of  Mardonius,  after  the  latter  had  been  killed,  Aris- 
todemus was  pierced  by  an  arrow  in  the  attack  on  the 
stockade  at  Thebes  whither  the  Persians  sought  refuge. 
In  my  opinion,"  says  Herodotus  referring  to  those 
who  displayed  the  greatest  valor  in  the  engagement, 
Aristodemus   proved   himself  by   far   the  bravest."  ^ 
All  those  among  the  Greeks  who  perished  at  Platea 
were  honored  except  Aristodemus,  whom  the  Spartans 
never  forgave,  because  he  did  not  die  with  Leonidas  at 
1  hermopyl«.^ 


*  Herod,  vii,  229,  230. 

*  Herod,  ix.  71. 

nffh. T.cf  ?       J^?.  ^^  f^""^""^  ^'^''^°*  G^'e^k  scholars.    But  one 
wlk     P.rwT/K*'*'"'  I'  ""'^i*'^  *°  *  ^^"^^'^^  Mrs.  Anna  Swan- 
ThiLJ^ti  ^'  ^}^r.T^^  «^^P^^^  *^*^«""t  of  the  engagements  at 
TherroopylaB    and    Plataea   is    also    from    the    pen   of    a    womnn 
Caroline  Dale  Snedeker,  which  she  descrit^s  in  her  enterTalTg 


THE    AMERICAN    THEEMOPYLiE 


323 


Xerxes  paid  an  enormous  price  for  his  victory.  Two 
of  his  brothers  and  many  of  his  nobles  perished  in  the 
contest  over  the  body  of  Leonidas.  The  Persian  loss 
was  estimated  at  twenty  thousand. 

As  a  conspicuous  example  of  patriotic  devotion  the 
heroism  of  the  defenders  of  the  famous  pass  is  not  sur- 
passed in  military  annals.  The  third  decade  of  the 
last  century  witnessed  the  struggle  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Texas  to  secure  their  independence.  The  courage 
and  devotion  of  the  little  band  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  Texans  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Travis,  and  his  subordinates  Bowie  and  Crocket,  at  the 
Alimo,  in  resisting  the  assaults  of  from  three  to  four 
thousand  Mexicans  under  Santa  Anna,  March,  1836, 
reflected  the  patriotism  and  devotion  of  Leonidas.  That 
engagement  is  sometimes  referred  to  as  the  American 
Thermopylae.  Travis  held  the  old  Stone  Mission  at 
San  Antonio  until  he  and  all  his  comrades  perished  to 
a  man.  When  the  Mexicans,  who  had  lost  at  least  a 
third  of  their  number,  entered  the  bloody  enclosure, 
they  bayoneted  the  five  survivors,  all  that  remained 
of  the  original  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight.  The 
story  of  Thermopylae  has  been  repeated  through  the 
ages,  and  will  continue  to  be  repeated  to  coming  gen- 
erations as  long  as  courage  and  patriotism  are  esteemed 
as  virtues. 

The  rhetra  of  Lycurgus  was  the  bible  of  the  Spartan. 
They  took  from  him  their  law,  as  the  children  of  Israel 
received  theirs  from  Moses.  The  Spartans  were  taught 
that  they  must  die,  rather  than  break  their  ranks  before 
an  enemy  or  abandon  their  posts  in  battle.  They  enter- 
tained also  a  superstitious  veneration  for  oracles,  and 
the  celebration  of  their  accustomed  festivals,  and  public 
games,  was  part  of  their  religious  life.     When,  there- 

novel,  "The  Spartan."  It  is  a  most  interesting  biography  of 
Aristodemus,  the  friend  of  Leonidas,  the  coward  of  Thermopy- 
lae, and  the  hero  of  Plataea. 


'A 


3^4 


MILITAEY   AKNALS    OF    GEEECE 


PEASIAN    SAILOES   VIEW    THE    FIELD 


32s 


fore,  the  oracle  revealed  to  the  Spartans  that  the  only 
means  whereby  Sparta  could  be  saved  was  the  voluntary 
death  of  a  King  of  the  race  of  Hercules,  Leonldas  re- 
sponded with  pleasure  to  the  demand  of  the  State,  and 
died  willingly  in  defence  of  his  country. 

The  Persian  monarch  desired  to  spread  the  news  of 
his  "victory  "  at  Thermopylae,  to  encourage  the  sailors 
of  his  fleet  off  Artemisium,  the  Greek  fleet  having  al- 
ready sailed  south  through  the  Euripus.  In  order  to 
convey  a  false  impression,  and  conceal  the  number  of 
the  slain,  he  buried  nineteen  thousand  of  the  Persians, 
who  had  fallen,  in  trenches  which  were  filled  with  earth, 
levelled  over,  and  covered  with  foliage,  leaving  but  one 
thousand  on  the  field  exposed  to  view.  Xerxes  then  sent 
a  herald  across  the  gulf  of  Malis,  to  the  fleet  with  an 
invitation  to  the  seamen  to  come  over  to  Thermopylae, 
and  view  the  battle  field.  Their  herald,  when  he  reached 
Histiaea,  caused  the  naval  force  to  be  assembled  and 
delivered  this  message: 

"  Comrades,  King  Xerxes  gives  permission  to  all 
who  please,  to  quit  their  posts,  and  see  how  he  fights 
with  the  senseless  men  who  think  to  overthrow  his 
armies."  Many  gladly  accepted  the  invitation,  indeed 
the  Asiatics  flocked  to  the  shore  in  such  numbers,  that 
all  available  small  craft  was  put  in  service  and  it  was 
difficult  to  get  a  boat  to  be  transported  to  the  scene  of 
the  battle.  Herodotus  observes,  however,  that  no  one 
was  deceived  with  what  disposition  Xerxes  had  made 
of  the  dead  who  perished  in  the  engagement.  After 
those  connected  with  the  fleet  had  returned  to  their 
ships  Xerxes  broke  up  his  camp  at  Trachis  and  pro- 
ceeded on  his  march  towards  Athens. 

No  Athenians  fought  at  Thermopylae.  No  Spartans 
or  Peloponnesians  fought  at  Marathon.  The  Athe- 
nians, however,  were  with  Themistocles  in  the  fleet  off 
the  headland  of  Artemisium,  at  the  extremity  of  the 
island  Euboea,  to  protect  the  flank  of  the  army  of  Leoni- 


das,  and  the  Euripus,  the  sea-Thermopylae,  or  narrow 
strait  between  Euboea  and  the  mainland.  The  naval 
engagements  off  Artemisium  were  fought  on  the  same 
days  that  the  Greek  land  forces  fought  in  the  pass. 
These  engagements  will  now  be  considered. 


it 


CHAPTER    XXI 

ARTEMISIUM 

ARTEMISIUM  —  Ar-te-me-shum — [Aprefuaiov].  A  headland 
on  the  northern  coast  of  Eubcea  in  the  territory  of  Histiaeotis.  So 
called  from  a  picturesque  temple  and  grove  sacred  to  Artemis 
(Diana).  The  strait  of  Artemisium  separates  Euboea  from  the 
peninsula  of  Magnesia,  in  Thessaly,  and  the  Gulf  of  Pagasaeus 
(now  Gulf  of  Volo).  The  strait  varies  in  width  from  Ave  to 
seven  miles  and  on  the  west  forms  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Malis.  Its 
waters  wash  the  narrow  strip  of  beach  at  the  base  of  Mount  (Eta, 
known  as  the  pass  of  Thermopylae.  The  pass  is  about  thirty 
miles  southwest  of  Artemisium. 

HE  headland  of  Euboea,  beyond  the  city  of 
Histiaea,  is  a  picturesque  spot,  surrounded 
by  the  charm  and  beauty  of  the  landscape  in 
northern  Greece.  There  stands  the  temple 
of  Artemis  (Diana),  surnamed  the  dawn,  sur- 
rounded with  trees,  among  which  are  erected  pillars  of 
white  marble.  On  the  opposite  coast  of  Magnesia  is 
Olizon.  Near  this  city  in  a  sheltered  harbor  is  Aphetae, 
in  the  bay  of  Magnesia.  At  this  place,  it  is  said,  Jason 
abandoned  Hercules  who  accompanied  his  expedition  to 
Colchis,  in  Asia,  for  the  Golden  Fleece.  He  was  sent 
ashore  for  water,  and  while  absent  the  Argo  sailed 
away.  From  this  circumstance  the  name  of  Aphetae 
was  given  to  the  place.  Here,  when  the  Persians 
learned  that  the  Greeks  ships  were  at  Artemisium,  they 
moored  their  fleet. 

The  first  naval  battle  in  the  Second  Persian  War, 
B.  C.  480,  was  fought  off  this  headland,  simultaneously 
with  the  attack  of  Xerxes  on  Leonidas  in  the  pass  at 
Thermopylae.     That   engagement  is   described   in   the 

326 


EURYBIADES   AND    THEMISTOCLES  327 

previous  chapter.  After  the  Greeks  had  abandoned  the 
idea  of  confronting  the  Persians  in  the  Vale  of  Tempe, 
the  troops  under  Themistocles  returned  to  the  isthmus 
to  formulate  new  plans  for  the  safety  of  Greece.  It 
was  agreed  that  the  navy  should  cooperate  with  the 
anny.  The  latter,  under  Leonidas,  was  to  advance  to 
Thermopylae,  to  prevent  the  land  forces  of  Xerxes  from 
entering  their  country  through  the  pass.  The  naval 
forces  under  Eurybiades  and  Themistocles  were  to 
guard  the  sea-Thermopylae,  and  prevent  the  ships  of 
Persia  from  entering  the  straits  of  Eubcea,  and  from 
passing  through  the  narrowest  part  known  as  the  Eu- 
ripus,  and  prevent  the  Persians  from  reaching  in  that 
direction  the  coast  of  Att^^a.  It  was  designed  also  that 
the  navy  should,  as  far  as  possible,  protect  the  flank 
of  the  Greeks,  assigned  to  hold  the  pass,  at  the  base  of 
the  cliff's  of  Mount  (Eta,  which,  on  the  sea  side,  was 
washed  by  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Malis,  and  prevent 
the  Persians  from  attempting  to  disembark  troops  from 
the  gulf,  to  attack  the  flank  of  the  army  of  Leonidas. 
Thus  the  scheme  was  to  guard  against  the  entry  of  the 
Persian  infantry  at  the  pass  of  Thermopylae,  and  to 
prevent  the  Persian  fleet  from  reaching  the  coast  of 
Attica  through  the  Euripus  in  the  straits  of  Euboea. 

The  Greek  fleet  sent  forward  to  Artemisium  to  co- 
operate with  the  land  forces  consisted  of  271  ships  be- 
sides nine  penteconters,  contributed  as  follows: 

GREEK  FLEET  AT  ARTEMISIUM 

Furnished  by  the  Athenians 127 

«  "     Corinthians     40 

«  u  u     Megarians    20 

««  «  «     ^genitae    18 

«  «  "     Sicyonians    12 

*•  "  "     Lacedaemonians     10 

«  **  "     Epidaurians    8 

**  "  «      Eretrians   7 

•*  "  «     Troezenians     5 

"  "  «     Styreans      2 

«  «  "     Ceians     , 2 


328  MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 

Carried  forward  ;:;•>; ^^^ 

The  Ceians  furnished  also  2  Pentcconters,  and  the  Opun- 

tian  Locrians,  7  Pentcconters  ,  ^ .,.  .  oa 
Chalcidians,  manned  ships  furnished  by  the  Athenians  .  »u 
The  Plateans  assisted  the  Athenians  in  manning  their  ships 

Total  ships  ^^J 

Total  Penteconters j ^ 

Total  number  of  vessels  ^^ 

The  selfishness  and  lack  of  patriotism  among  the 
Spartans  and  Peloponnessians,  was  revealed  when  it  be- 
came necessary  to  select  a  naval  commander.  They  de- 
clared that  they  would  not  sail  with  the  fleet  if  an  Athe- 
nian was  chosen.  The  latter,  however,  though  they 
contributed  nearly  half  the  vessels  which  comprised  the 
squadron,  displayed  wonderful  forbearance,  and  the 
proper  spirit  of  devotion  to  their  country,  in  following 
the  advice  of  Themistocles,  the  ablest  naval  officer  of 
his  time.  The  latter  yielded  gracefully,  saying  it  was 
of  the  utmost  importance  that  Greece  should  be  saved, 
knowing  that  if  they  quarrelled  about  the  commander, 
his  country  would  be  lost.  Eurybiades,  therefore,  with 
the   approval   and   concurrence   of   Themistocles,   was 

chosen.  . 

After  they  had  formulated  their  plan  of  defense,  the 
Greeks  consulted  the  oracle  in  the  temple  of  Delphi. 
The  message  from  the  gods,  through  the  mouth  of  the 
priestess,  was  spoken  in  riddles,  and  the  devout  sup- 
pliants at  the  tripod  in  the  temple  were  obliged  to  mter- 
pret  the  enigmas,  which  were  designed  to  advise  them 
as  to  their  destiny.  They  were  told  to  pray  to  the 
winds  for  they  would  prove  powerful  allies  to  Greece. 
This  prophecy  was  literally  fulfilled. 

The  numerical  strength  of  the  Persian  fleet  outnum- 
bered that  of  the  enemy  more  than  four-fold.  Before 
leaving  Therma,  the  Persian  admiral  dispatched  ten  of 
his  swiftest  vessels,  commanding  them  to  sail  direct  to 
the  island  of  Sciathos,  which  is  situated  off  the  south- 


THEEE    DAY    TEMPEST 


329 


ern  extremity  of  the  Magnesian  peninsula,  about  ten 
miles  north  of  the  coast-line  of  northern  Euboea,  and 
the  headland  of  Artemisium. 

Three  scout  ships,  sent  out  by  the  Greeks,  sailed  north 
through  the  Thermaic  Gulf  beyond  the  mouth  of  the 
Peneus,  to  within  about  forty  miles  of  Therma,  at  the 
head  of  the  gulf.  When  they  descried  ten  of  the 
enemy's  vessels  bearing  down  upon  them,  being  out- 
numbered three  to  one,  they  fled,  but  were  soon  over- 
taken off  Mount  Pelion.  Two  of  the  ships  were  cap- 
tured after  a  desperate  engagement,  but  the  third,  an 
Athenian  vessel,  ran  ashore,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Peneus. 
The  ship  was  captured,  but  the  men  leaped  ashore  and 
escaped  through  Thessaly,  and  made  their  way  in  safety 
to  Athens.  Signal  fires  were  lighted  on  the  island  of 
Sciathos  by  Greek  scouts  stationed  there,  to  inform  the 
commanders  at  Artemisium  of  this  event.  This  incident 
caused  alarm  among  the  Greeks  and  resulted  in  the 
withdrawal  of  the  fleet  from  Artemisium  to  Chalcis  on 
the  Euripus,  in  the  straits  of  Euboea,  leaving  scouts  on 
the  lookout  at  Artemisium.  The  main  fleet  of  the  Per- 
sians, deeming  the  coast  clear,  set  sail  eleven  days  after 
the  departure  of  Xerxes  from  Therma.  A  day's  sail 
brought  them  to  Sepias  on  the  coast  of  Magnesia,  al- 
most opposite  the  island  of  Sciathos,  where  they  took 
up  their  station  close  to  land.  There  being  no  sufficient 
harbor,  they  were  obliged  to  ride  at  anchor  in  eight  files, 
their  prows  towards  the  sea.  They  did  not  anticipate 
severe  weather.  Suddenly  the  sea  began  to  swell.  A 
most  violent  northeaster,  known  as  a  Hellespontine, 
burst  upon  them,  accompanied  by  a  terrific  electric 
storm.  The  sea  was  lashed  by  the  tempest,  and  the  Per- 
sian fleet  was  tossed  in  utter  confusion.  The  vessels 
became  unmanageable  and  were  dashed  against  each 
other,  and  lashed  by  the  ocean,  until  a  large  number 
became  a  mass  of  wreckage.  The  violence  of  the  gale 
continued  for  three  days  with  unremitting  fury.     Not 


11 

pipf 


m 


330 


MIIilTAKY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


until  the  fourth  day  did  the  storm  abate.  No  less  than 
four  hundred  Persian  vessels  were  destroyed.  The 
wreckage  was  scattered  on  the  shores  of  Cape  Sepias, 
Meliboea  and  Casthanaea.  Thus,  as  the  Pythoness  had 
predicted,  the  winds  proved  powerful  allies  to 
Greece. 

The  vessels  of  gold  and  silver  which  were  later  picked 
out  of  the  wreckage,  or  which  were  washed  ashore,  and 
recovered  by  owners  of  the  land,  along  the  beach,  were 
of  great  value.  One  Aminocles  is  particularly  men- 
tioned, who  possessed  land  about  Sepias,  who  is  said  to 
have  acquired  great  wealth,  having  gathered  many  ar- 
ticles of  gold  and  silver,  thrown  up  by  the  sea,  after  the 
storm. 

During  this  disastrous  and  protracted  tempest,  and 
after  it  had  abated,  the  Magi  sought  to  charm  the  winds 
by  incantations  and  sacrifices.  When  the  scouts 
brought  tidings  of  the  destruction  of  so  many  vessels 
belonging  to  the  Persian  fleet  to  their  comrades  at  Chal- 
cis,  they  offered  up  vows,  and  poured  out  libations  to 
Poseidon  (Neptune),  as  their  deliverer,  and  hastened 
back  to  their  station  at  Artemisium. 

The  Persians,  after  the  storm,  sailed  south,  doubled 
the  extremity  of  Magnesian  peninsula,  and  entered  the 
friendly  shelter  of  the  protected  bay  of  Pagasaeus, 
known  also  as  the  gulf  of  Magnesia.  They  stationed 
themselves  in  the  harbor  of  Aphetae,  a  few  nules  west  of 
Olizon,  from  which  they  commanded  a  clear  view  of  the 
headland  of  Euboea  and  Artemisium  immediately  oppo- 
site, some  five  or  six  miles  distant.  It  derived  its  name 
by  reason  of  the  fact  that  in  a  charming  grove,  a  short 
distance  from  the  beach,  had  been  erected  a  beautiful 
temple,  dedicated  to  Artemis.  This  goddess  was  the 
daughter  of  Zeus,  and  twin  sister  of  Apollo.  She  was 
the  deity  of  light,  and  had  power  over  the  moon.  She 
is  depicted  with  her  bow  and  quiver  as  presiding  over 
the  chase,  known  to  the  Romans  as  Diana. 


PLAN    TO    ABANDON    ARTEMISIUM 


331 


After  the  squadron  took  its  station  at  Artemisium 
a  second  time,  when  the  Greeks  learned  of  the  great 
number  of  ships  and  saw  the  Persian  fleet  drawn  up  at 
Aphetae,  mindful  also  of  the  vast  numbers  of  troops 
which  filled  the  country,  an  assembly  of  officers  was 
called,  to  deliberate  as  to  the  propriety  of  abandoning 
their  station,  and  retiring  to  the  inner  parts  of  Greece. 
The  occurrences  which  transpired  at  this  critical  stage 
of  the  campaign  throws  a  strong  light  on  the  imper- 
fections which  marred  and  discolored  the  character  of 
the  Greeks.  Two  prominent  characteristics  are  con- 
spicuous. They  are  wholly  inconsistent  with  patriotic 
devotion  and  love  of  liberty,  and  contrast  strangely 
with  the  courage  and  valor  which  they  displayed  in 
battle.  One  trait  confined  chiefly  to  the  Peloponne- 
sians,  was  inborn  jealousy  and  envy  at  the  prosperity 
of  their  neighbors  and  commercial  rivals,  a  moral  de- 
linquency, which  finally  resulted  in  the  ruin  and  de- 
struction of  Greece.  The  other  blemish,  which  was 
chiefly  confined  to  the  Athenians,  was  an  inordinate 
love  of  money.  The  off^ense  of  bribery  was  practised 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  make  the  crime  one  of  their 
easily  besetting  sins  —  a  crime  which  subsequently 
ruined  Themistocles,  the  victor  of  Plataea. 

The  plan  to  withdraw  from  Artemisium  and  abandon 
their  countrymen  in  Euboea,  and  Leonidas  and  his  fol- 
lowers in  the  pass  of  Thermopylae,  and  remove  to  the 
isthmus  and  there  make  a  final  stand  against  Persia, 
was  strongly  advocated  by  the  Peloponnesians.  It  was 
strenuously  opposed  by  Themistocles,  who,  with  the 
Athenians,  stood  alone  in  their  efi^orts  to  hold  the  fleet 
where  it  was. 

In  the  meantime  the  inhabitants  of  Euboea,  fearing 
lest  they  should  be  abandoned,  and  their  island  unpro- 
tected, and  left  open  to  invasion,  which  involved  their 
certain  destruction,  sought  to  prevail  upon  Eurybiades, 
to  remain  and  protect  their  coasts,  at  least  until  they 


332 


MILITAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


could  be  afforded  an  opportunity  to  leave  the  island 
with  their  families,  their  herds  and  flocks,  and  such 
movables  as  they  could  take  with  them.  But  Eurybi- 
ades  was  obdurate.  His  country  was  the  Peloponnesus, 
and  he  seemed  to  care  little  for  the  immediate  welfare 
of  the  Euboeans.  Failing  to  enlist  the  sympathies  of 
the  Spartan  commander,  they  approached  Themistocles 
with  more  success,  and  it  is  said,  after  offering  him  a 
bribe  of  thirty  talents  ($30,000)  prevailed  upon  him 
to  have  the  fleet  remain,  and  defend  their  country  from 
the  inroads  of  the  Persians,  and  from  the  sure  destruc- 
tion which  would  follow  the  withdrawal  of  the  fleet. 
Themistocles,  for  reasons  of  his  own,  was  entirely  averse 
to  retreating  and  abandoning  his  countrymen  in  Euboea, 
and  the  Greek  infantry  assigned  to  defend  the  pass  of 
Thermopylae.  He  was  obliged,  however,  to  overcome 
not  only  the  opposition  of  Eurybiades,  but  the  jealousy 
of  Adimantus,  the  Corinthian  commander,  who  feared 
and  hated  the  Athenians  and  especially  their  great  ad- 
miral for  the  part  he  had  taken  in  aid  of  ^gina,  the 
commercial  rival  of  Corinth.  Themistocles,  however, 
was  the  ablest  and  craftiest  of  the  Greeks.  He  had 
been  bribed  by  the  Euboeans,  and  in  his  turn  resorted 
to  bribery.  He  concealed  the  fact  that  he  had  accepted 
thirt}'  talents  from  the  Euboeans.  He  paid  Eurybiades 
^ve  talents  of  silver  ($6,000),  pretending  that  the 
money  came  from  his  private  purse,  and  by  the  use  of 
this  money  overcame  the  scruples  of  the  Spartan.  Adi- 
mantus continued  to  urge  his  objections.  But  the  in- 
genuity of  Themistocles  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  He 
said  to  the  Corinthian  with  an  oath,  "  You  shall  not 
abandon  us,  for  I  will  make  you  a  greater  present  than 
the  King  of  the  Medes  would  send  you  for  abandoning 
the  allies."  He  then  paid  Adimantus  three  talents  of  sil- 
ver ($3,000)  which  he  led  him  to  believe  came  from  his 
own  purse.  The  bribe  was  eagerly  accepted.  Themis- 
tocles secretly  kept  for  his  own  use  about  $22,000,  the 


SCYLLIAS    THE    DIVEE 


333 


largest  part  of  the  bribe  given  him  by  the  Euboeans.  He 
had,  however,  accomplished  his  object  and  prevailed 
upon  his  associates  to  remain  and  guard  the  Euripus 
and  the  island  of  Euboea. 

The  Persians  planned  to  surround  the  Greeks.  They 
sent  secretly  part  of  their  fleet  consisting  of  200  vessels 
south  along  the  eastern  coast  of  this  long  narrow 
island,  with  orders  to  enter  the  straits  after  rounding 
its  southern  extremity  and  sail  north  through  the  Eu- 
ripus, and  attack  the  enemy  in  the  rear  while  the  re- 
mainder of  the  fleet  attacked  them  in  front  from  the 
bay  of  Magnesia. 

Their  plans  were  thwarted  a  second  time,  for  the 
winds  in  their  courses  fought  against  Persia.  The 
fleet  designed  to  sail  round  the  island,  put  out  to  sea, 
so  as  to  avoid  the  scrutiny  of  the  enemy,  intending  to 
return  and  sail  close  to  the  outer  shore.  The  east  coast- 
line of  Euboea,  washed  by  the  ^Egean,  is  without  har- 
bor facilities,  being  lined  with  precipitous  and  rocky 
cliffs,  where  it  was  impossible  for  boats  to  land.  When 
the  Persians  were  sailing  along  the  vicinity  of  the  coast 
and  before  they  had  reached  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  island,  a  violent  storm  and  hurricane  burst  upon 
them.  Their  vessels  were  dashed  to  pieces  against  the 
rocky  shores  of  Euboea  and  destroyed.  The  god  of  the 
winds  again  interposed  as  the  oracle  had  predicted,  and 
saved  Greece  from  the  arms  of  Persia. 

In  order  to  conceal  their  plans  from  the  enemy  this 
squadron  of  200  vessels  was  ordered  to  sail  east  towards 
the  island  of  Sciathos,  as  if  they  intended  to  direct  their 
course  towards  the  Hellespont  and  as  soon  as  darkness 
set  in,  to  sail  direct  for  the  east  coast  of  Euboea  and 
follow  its  shore-line  at  a  convenient  distance.  But  the 
designs  of  the  Persians  were  revealed  to  the  Greeks  by 
Scyllias,  a  Chalcidian  from  Scyone,  who  carried  out  his 
long-cherished  plan  to  desert  to  the  enemy.  He  was  the 
most  skilful  and  expert  diver  of  his  time,  and  in  the 


334 


MIUTAKY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


FIRST   NAVAL   VICTORY 


335 


recent  shipwreck  off  Mount  Pelion  saved  much  valuable 
property  from  the  wrecks.  He  escaped  from  a  Persian 
ship  at  Aphet«,  and  it  is  said  swam  the  channel,  a  dis- 
tance of  eight  or  nine  miles,  now  known  as  the  channel 
of  Oreos,  to  Artemisium,  at  the  time  the  contingent  of 
200  vessels  was  about  to  be  dispatched  to  circumnavi- 
gate the  island  of  Euboea.  He  at  once  revealed  to 
Themistocles  and  Eurybiades  the  designs  of  the  Per- 
sians, narrated  to  them  the  severe  losses  they  had  sus- 
tained in  the  three  day  tempest  off  the  coast  at  the  foot 
of  the  Pelion  range,  and  detailed  the  plan  to  dispatch 
a  squadron  to  sail  round  Euboea.  The  Greeks  resolved 
to  remain  where  they  were  till  night-fall  and  then  sail 
out  to  attack  this  contingent  of  200  ships.  They  kept 
close  watch  with  their  scout  ships,  but  no  Persian  sailed 
against  them. 

Themistocles  then  resolved  to  test  the  mettle  of  the 
Greek  navy,  and  attack  the  enemy  late  in  the  day.  Ac- 
cordingly shortly  before  sunset,  a  number  of  their  ves- 
sels sailed  into  the  channel,  towards  Aphetse,  and  the 
extremity  of  the  Magnesian  Peninsula.  The  Persians, 
observing  the  comparatively  small  number  of  vessels 
that  were  advancing  towards  them,  regarded  their  con- 
duct in  the  light  of  a  banter  as  if  daring  them  into 
action.  They  thought  their  advance  madness  and  de- 
termined to  punish  their  rashness,  deeming  their  victory 
comparatively  easy,  as  their  vessels  far  outnumbered 
the  Greeks.  They  sailed  out  and  surrounded  the  ships 
of  the  enemy.  Themistocles  determined  to  break 
through  the  circle  about  him  by  a  sudden  assault.  The 
Greek  manoeuvre  was  to  project  the  sterns  of  their  ves- 
sels inwardly  and  turn  their  prows  towards  the  enemy 
on  all  sides  like  the  points  of  a  star,  their  prows  point- 
ing in  all  directions  Hke  spokes  from  a  hub.  At  a  given 
signal  they  made  a  terrific  assault  on  the  enemy's  ships 
and  engaged  them  prow  to  prow.  They  broke  through 
their  lines,  and  captured  thirty  Persian  ships.     Night 


coming  on,  each  returned  to  their  stations.  This  en- 
gagement fought  at  eventide  in  the  channel  off  the 
headland  of  Artemisium,  was  the  maiden  achievement 
of  the  Athenian  navy,  which  was  destined  soon  to  be- 
come the  most  powerful  in  the  ancient  world,  and  to 
retain  supremacy  on  the  sea  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury. 

After  the  sun  went  down,  at  the  close  of  this  mem- 
orable battle,  which  marked  the  initial  victory  of  the 
Greek  navy,  a  terrific  storm  arose.  In  the  blackness  of 
night,  the  winds  increased  in  fury  to  a  fierce  gale.  The 
rain  fell  in  torrents,  the  thunder  rolled  along  the  range 
of  Pelion  and  the  blinding  lightning  added  terror  to 
the  storm.  The  wreckage  and  the  dead  bodies  of  those 
slain  in  the  battle  fought  at  the  close  of  the  day  washed 
in  among  the  Persian  ships,  and  clogged  the  oars  of  the 
vessels,  in  their  retreat  to  Aphetae.  The  sailors  were 
seized  with  terror  and  superstitious  fear.  The  fate  of 
the  squadron  which  had  secretly  sailed  and  which,  by 
reason  of  the  storm,  the  Greeks  were  unable  to  inter- 
cept, were  caught  in  the  open  sea,  off  the  precipitous 
and  dangerous  cliffs  and  rocky  shores  of  Euboea. 
Lashed  and  driven  by  the  tempest,  they  knew  not  where, 
the  entire  squadron  was  finally  dashed  to  pieces,  off 
"  the  Hollows,"  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  coast, 
and  there  perished.  Again  Poseidon,  who  commanded 
the  winds  and  controlled  the  tempestuous  billows  of  the 
deep,  proved  a  powerful  ally  to  Greece. 

Soon  after  the  morning  broke,  after  this  wild  and 
fatal  night,  the  storm  abated,  but  the  enemy  failed  to 
advance  from  the  sheltered  harbor  of  Aphet?e,  in  the 
gulf  of  Pagasaeus.  Later  in  the  day  53  Athenian  ships, 
sailing  north  through  the  sheltered  straits  of  Euboea, 
arrived  at  Artemisium,  with  tidings  of  the  disaster 
which  had  overtaken  the  Persian  squadron  which  had 
perished  in  the  storm  off  "  the  Hollows."  Their  forces 
having   been    augmented    by   the   Athenian    squadron, 


336 


MIUTAET  ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


INSCRIPTIONS     POSTED 


337 


I 


iiiJ 

'It 


Themistocles  again  sailed  out  shortly  before  sunset,  as 
he  had  done  the  day  before,  and  attacked  some  Sllician 
ships,  which  he  destroyed,  and  at  night  fall  again  re- 
turned to  Artemisium. 

The  Persian  commander  now  began  to  fear  the  dis- 
pleasure of  Xerxes,  and  the  following  day  determined 
to  make  an  attempt  to  dislodge  the  enemy,  and  retrieve 
in  some  measure  the  disasters  which  had  overtaken  him. 
He  did  not  wait  until  the  Greeks  chose  to  sail  against 
them  late  in  the  day,  but  got  his  squadron  under  way 
about  noon.  The  Greeks  were  at  their  station  off 
Artemisium.  The  Persian  admiral  formed  his  ships 
in  a  crescent,  bore  down  on  the  enemy,  and  sought  to 
encircle  them  and  prevent  their  escape.  Eurybiades 
and  Themistocles  did  not  wait  until  the  enemy  ap- 
proached, but  sailed  out  into  the  channel.  A  terrible 
engagement  ensued.  The  fleet  of  Xerxes,  by  reason  of 
its  magnitude  and  the  crescent-shaped  formation  of 
its  alignment,  became  impeded  as  the  ships  ran  foul  of 
each  other  when  attacked.  Their  position  was  des- 
perate. They  dare  not  yield,  and  the  fight  continued. 
The  casualties  were  very  great  on  both  sides.  The 
Greeks  suffered  severely,  but  the  loss  of  the  Persians, 
in  both  men  and  ships,  was  greater  than  that  sustained 
by  the  enemy.  Among  the  notable  events  of  the  day 
was  the  capture  of  five  Grecian  ships  and  crews  by  a 
contingent  of  Egyptian  vessels.  Clinias,  also,  who 
joined  the  Athenian  fleet  with  two  hundred  men,  and 
a  ship  of  his  own,  won  distinction  in  this  engagement. 
He  was  the  father  of  Alcibiades,  who  afterwards  be- 
came a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  Peloponnesian  war, 
and  achieved  an  unenviable  reputation  by  his  treason, 
when  he  espoused  the  cause  of  Sparta  against  his  own 
city  of  Athens.  The  engagement  resulted  in  a  drawn 
battle.  Both  sides  retired,  but  the  Greeks  were  in  pos- 
session of  the  dead,  and  of  their  wrecks.  The  Athe- 
nians sustained  the  heaviest  losses. 


••| 


Themistocles  now  began  to  devise  some  plan  to  per- 
suade the  lonians,  Carians,  and  other  Asiatic  Greeks,  to 
desert  the  cause  of  Persia,  believing  them  to  be  the 
most  courageous  and  skilful  sailors  in  the  enemy's 
fleet.  While  they  were  deliberating  what  course  to 
pursue,  a  scout  ship  from  the  Gulf  of  Malis  (now 
the  Gulf  of  Lamis)  brought  the  sad  tidings  of  the 
death  of  Leonidas,  and  the  destruction  of  his  forces 
in  the  pass  of  Thermopylae.  Upon  receipt  of  this 
discouraging  news,  the  Greeks  retired  from  Arte- 
misium, and  sailed  to  the  island  of  Salamis  in  the 
Saronic  Gulf. 

Themistocles  wrote  bold  inscriptions  and  placed  them 
in  conspicuous  places,  where  they  would  be  read  by  the 
lonians,  and  could  be  interpreted  to  the  Persian  ad- 
miral. His  design  was  to  create  suspicion,  as  to  the 
loyalty  of  the  Asiatic  Greeks,  in  the  breast  of  the  Per- 
sian commanders,  who  would  be  unable  to  ascertain  what 
effect  these  inscriptions  might  have  among  their  kins- 
men who  had  been  recruited  from  Asia.  This  is  the 
message  to  his  kinsmen  which  the  crafty  Greek  posted 
conspicuously : 

"  Men  of  Ionia,  you  do  wrong  in  fighting  against 
your  fathers  and  helping  to  enslave  Greece.  Rather, 
therefore,  come  over  to  us,  or  if  you  cannot  do  that, 
withdraw  your  forces  from  the  contest  and  entreat  the 
Carians  to  do  the  same.  If  neither  of  these  things  is 
possible,  and  you  are  bound  by  too  strong  necessity  to 
revolt,  yet  in  action,  when  we  are  engaged,  behave  ill 
on  purpose,  remembering  that  you  are  descended  from 
us,  and  that  the  enmity  of  the  barbarian  against  us, 
originally  sprung  from  you."  ^ 

We  now  approach  the  close  of  the  momentous  cam- 
paign of  Xerxes,  which  culminated  in  the  defeat  of  the 
Persian  fleet  off  the  island  of  Salamis,  on  the  20th  of 

» Herod,  viii,  99. 


33^ 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


September  B.  C.  480.  The  march  of  the  land  forces 
under  Xerxes,  from  Thermopylae  to  Athens,  the 
attempt  to  sack  the  Temple  of  Delphi  and  the 
prophecies  concerning  the  battle  of  Salamis  will  now 
be  considered. 


CHAPTER    XXn 

ADVANCE  OF  XERXES  FROM  THERMOPYLAE  TO 
ATHENS  — ATTEMPT  TO  SACK  THE   TEMPLE 
OF  DELPHI  — FALL  OF  ATHENS  — TRA- 
DITIONS  AS   TO  SALAMIS  — ORACLES 
AND    PROPHECIES 

DELPHI  [AeXtpol].  A  town  in  Phocis  on  the  southern  slopes 
of  Mount  Parnassus,  about  six  miles  north  of  the  plain  of  Crisae, 
on  the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  where  stood  the  Temple  of  Delphi,  sacred 
to  Apollo.  Attacked  by  a  contingent  of  the  army  of  Xerxes, 
August  B.  C.  480. 

EFORE  discussing  the  battle  of  Salamis 
which  concluded  the  first  campaign  of  the 
Second  Persian  War,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  refer  to  the  events  which  occurred  on 
the  march  of  Xerxes  from  Thermopylae  to 
Athens,  the  ineffectual  attempt  of  a  contingent  of  his 
army  to  loot  the  Temple  of  Delphi,  and  to  discuss 
briefly  in  this  connection  the  remarkable  prophecies 
concerning  Greece,  and  their  interpretation  by  Themis- 
tocles. 

After  the  defeat  of  Leonidas  at  Thermopylae,  no 
enemy  remained  to  oppose  the  march  of  Xerxes  through 
Locris.  It  is  true  the  Lacedaemonians,  who  were  en- 
gaged in  celebrating  their  national  festival  to  the  Car- 
neian  Apollo,  when  Leonidas  advanced  to  Thermopylae, 
had  promised  to  assemble  an  army  in  Boeotia,  in  con- 
junction with  the  Athenians.  But  no  troops  were  sent, 
and  Xerxes  prosecuted  his  campaign  by  marching 
through  the  country,  across  Locris,  Phocis  and  Boeotia, 
ravaging  and  pillaging;  and  burning  the  towns  and 
temples  of  those  who  refused  to  acknowledge  his  sov- 

339 


340 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


INVADEES    FLEE    FEOM   DELPHI 


341 


ereignty.  The  Thespians  and  PIata?ans,  to  their  eter- 
nal honor,  be  it  said,  defied  Xerxes  and  refused  to  give 
him  their  allegiance.  Some  of  the  Persian  troops,  on 
their  way  to  Athens,  sought  to  despoil  the  temple  at 
Delphi,  and  carry  away  the  immense  treasures  deposited 
there  by  Croesus,  King  of  Lydia,  and  by  others,  who 
had  from  time  to  time  brought  their  offerings  to  the 
shrine  of  Apollo. 

In  permitting  a  part  of  his  army  to  pillage  the  Tem- 
ple of  Delphi,  Xerxes  was  less  reverend  than  his  father 
Darius.  When  the  latter  sent  out  his  expedition  under 
Datis  and  Artaphemes  against  Eretria  and  Athens,  he 
gave  orders  to  his  commanders  to  spare  the  sacred 
island  of  Delos,  because  it  was  the  birthplace  of  the 
twin  deities,  Apollo  and  Artemis  (Diana),  sacred  to  the 
Greeks.  Xerxes,  however,  placed  no  restraint  on  his 
troops,  but  allowed  them  to  burn  and  pillage  at  will  all 
places  in  the  enemy's  country.  Whether  they  were 
sacred  or  revered  by  the  people  seemed  to  be  wholly  im- 
material to  the  haughty  Persian.  When  tidings  of  the 
enemy's  approach  reached  Delphi,  the  inhabitants  con- 
sulted the  priestess  in  the  temple  as  to  whether  they 
should  secrete  the  holy  treasures  to  prevent  their  being 
plundered.  The  dignified  answer  came  from  the  tripod ; 
"Touch  them  not.  The  gods  are  able  to  protect  them 
without  human  aid."  The  inhabitants,  however,  being 
too  weak  to  resist  the  fury  of  the  invaders,  fled,  some 
to  the  fastnesses  of  Mount  Parnassus,  others  crossed 
the  gulf  of  Corinth  and  took  refuge  in  Achaia,  on  the 
northern  coast  of  the  Peloponnese.  The  prophet  Acer- 
atus,  however,  with  only  sixty  of  his  chosen  followers, 
remained  alone  in  Delphi,  and  awaited  the  approach  of 
the  plundering  hosts.  Suddenly  as  the  enemy  drew  nigh 
to  the  temple,  the  sacred  armor,  which  it  was  not  lawful 
for  man  to  touch,  which  was  accustomed  to  adorn  the 
inner  walls  in  the  sacred  edifice,  by  some  miraculous 
agency  was  removed  and  was  seen  laying  on  the  ground 


immediately  in  front  of  its  sacred  portals.  This  won- 
der was  immediately  followed  by  another  still  more  mar- 
vellous. When  the  enemy  came  to  the  doors  of  the 
chapel  of  Athene  (Minerva),  in  front  of  the  sacred 
edifice  suddenly  a  fierce  tempest  arose.  Amid  flashes  of 
lightning  and  peals  of  thunder  immense  rocks  and  crags 
from  the  sacred  mountain  were  loosed,  and  came  crash- 
ing down  the  sides  of  Parnassus,  upon  the  invading 
forces.  War  cries  and  shouts  of  victory  were  heard 
from  the  temple  of  Athene.  Vast  numbers  of  the  Per- 
sians were  crushed  amid  the  falling  crags  and  rocks. 
They  were  filled  with  terror  and  superstitious  awe,  and 
fled  from  the  place  in  great  confusion.  Then  the  Del- 
phian s,  seeing  their  amazement,  fell  upon  the  flying 
troops  and  slew  many.  In  terror  and  consternation, 
the  invaders  took  refuge  in  Bceotia  and  related  how 
they  had  been  pursued  by  two  hoplites,  greater  in  stat- 
ure than  mortal  men.  These  were  said  to  have  been 
sent  by  the  gods  to  protect  the  temple  sacred  to  Apollo. 
Thus  runs  the  legend. 

The  army  of  Xerxes,  after  this  incident,  pushed  on 
through  Boeotia,  crossed  the  borders  of  Attica.  A 
contingent  was  stationed  on  the  hill  of  Ares  (Mars 
Hill),  which  commanded  the  Acropolis  of  Athens.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  city  for  the  most  part  had  fled,  some 
to  Salamis,  others  to  ^Egina,  and  Troezen  in  Argolis. 
Attica  was  practically  deserted.  A  determined  band, 
however,  believed  that  the  "  wooden  wall "  referred  to 
by  the  priestess  in  the  Delphic  oracle,  which  declared 
that  "  Zeus  grants  to  Athens  that  the  wooden  wall  alone 
shall  remain  unconquered  to  defend  Athens  and  her 
children,"  was  intended  to  mean  the  wooden  stockade 
about  the  temple  of  Athene  on  the  hill  of  the  Acropolis. 
Themistocles,  indeed,  had  interpreted  the  words 
"  wooden  wall "  to  mean  the  decks  of  the  Athenian 
navy,  and  not  the  palisade  about  the  sacred  temple  of 
Athene.     These  patriots,  however,  determined  to   de- 


342 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


fend  the  stockade.  From  the  hill  of  Ares  (Mars  Hill), 
which  commands  the  Acropolis,  the  Persian  bowmen 
wrapped  their  arrows  with  tow  which  was  ignited,  and 
the  burning  shafts  were  shot  against  the  stockade,  but 
the  defenders  were  successful  in  extinguishing  the  fires 
thus  kindled.  Then  a  precipitous  path,  an  old  Pelas- 
gian  stairway,  on  the  side  of  the  AcropoHs  was  dis- 
covered, where  it  was  not  expected  any  one  would  at- 
tempt an  ascent.  The  Persians,  however,  entered  be- 
hind the  gates  and  ascended  the  ancient  stone  stairway, 
where  no  guard  was  stationed,  and  reached  the  summit 
near  the  temple  of  Cecrops'  daughter.  The  little  band 
of  defenders,  when  they  beheld  the  enemy  in  force  on 
the  Acropolis,  were  in  despair.  Some  threw  themselves 
down  from  the  wall  and  perished,  others  took  refuge 
in  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  temple.  The  enemy  now 
forced  the  gates  of  the  stockade,  slew  the  defenders,  and 
set  fire  to  the  temple,  and  all  the  buildings  on  the 
AcropoHs.     So  the  capital  of  Attica  was  taken. 

At  last  Xerxes  was  in  possession  of  Athens.  The 
burning  of  Sardis  was  avenged.  He  beheved  he  had 
now  accomplished  the  subjugation  of  Hellas.  Imme- 
diately couriers  were  sent  to  the  palace  at  Susa  to  an- 
nounce the  glad  tidings  to  his  uncle  Artabanus,  and  to 
Atossa,  the  queen-mother,  and  daughter  of  Cyrus  the 
Great. 

Before  giving  an  account  of  the  memorable  engage- 
ment at  Salamis,  it  will  be  proper  to  note  some  of  the 
traditions  concerning  that  event.  One  of  the  most  in- 
teresting concerns  the  supernatural.  In  the  face  of 
impending  war,  it  is  natural  for  opposing  forces  to  as- 
certain, if  possible,  what  destiny  awaits  them.  It  has 
been  the  universal  custom  of  mankind,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, to  seek  the  aid  of  some  supernatural 
agency,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  peer  into  the  future, 
and  learn  in  advance  what  the  end  may  be.     As  it  is 


GREEKS  CONSULT  THE  ORACLE 


343 


impossible  for  any  ordinary  mortal  to  foretell  what  will 
surely  come  to  pass,  men  have  always  sought  to  reach 
the  deity  through  those  whom  they  believed  are  en- 
dowed with  the  spirit  of  divination.  Among  the  Greeks 
this  gift  was  believed  to  be  possessed  by  the  priestess 
in  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  whose  prophecies 
were  regarded  as  revelations  made  by  the  gods  to  men. 

Before  Xerxes  set  out  with  his  army  from  Sardis, 
while  he  was  mobilizing  his  forces  at  Critalla,  in  Cappa- 
docia,  the  patriotic  leaders  in  Sparta  and  Athens  se- 
cured the  election  of  representatives  to  an  assembly, 
which  convened  in  the  temple  of  Poseidon,  on  the 
isthmus  of  Corinth.  This  was  the  first  pan-Hellenic 
military  Congress.  In  order  to  ascertain  the  will  of 
the  gods,  and  peer  a  little  way  into  the  future,  to 
divine  the  fate  of  Greece,  a  delegation  was  chosen  to 
proceed  to  Delphi  to  consult  the  oracle. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  age,  and  as  has  been  ob- 
served, had  been  the  custom  time  out  of  mind,  for  man 
to  seek  aid  of  the  supernatural.  Even  the  Israelites, 
who  first  taught  the  doctrine  of  monotheism  and  wor- 
shipped Jehovah,  a  spirit  invisible,  eternal,  unchange- 
able, approached  him  through  the  order  of  the  priest- 
hood ;  nor  was  any  one,  save  the  great  high  priest,  ever 
permitted  to  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies.  All  the  nations 
of  the  East  consulted  magicians,  wizards,  wise  men, 
spirit-raisers,  necromancers,  soothsayers,  and  received 
revelations,  either  orally,  or  by  signs;  through  the 
medium  of  dreams,  or  through  communication  with  de- 
parted spirits.  Even  Saul,  the  first  king  of  Israel,  after 
he  had  banished  the  wizards,  and  witches,  and  spirit- 
raisers  from  his  Kingdom,  consulted  a  witch,  or  female 
necromancer  at  Endor,  on  the  eve  of  his  last  battle  with 
the  Philistines  on  the  plains  of  Gilboa. 

On  the  southern  slopes  of  Parnassus,  about  six  miles 
from  the  gulf  of  Corinth,  stood  the  famous  temple  of 
Delphi,  dedicated  to  the  worship   of  Apollo,  prophet 


■Hi' 


344 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


PROPHETIC    UTTERANCES 


iff 


345 


of  Zeus.  Within  its  mysterious  precincts  the  Pythoness 
from  the  sacred  tripod  deriving  inspiration  from  the 
vapors  arising  from  the  fountain  Cassotis,  which  gushed 
from  the  crevasses  of  the  rocks  beneath,  chanted  her 
incantations  which  revealed  the  divine  will,  forecasting 
the  decrees  of  fate,  as  traced  on  the  web  of  futurity. 
She  was  clad  in  flowing  robes,  her  hair  was  adorned 
with  gold  ornaments.  Before  entering  upon  the  dis- 
charge of  her  sacred  office,  she  performed  the  ceremony 
of  purification.  She  then  entered  the  cavern  in  the 
recesses  of  the  temple,  drank  of  the  waters  of  the  foun- 
tain Cassotis,  tasted  the  fruit  of  the  old  bay-tree,  grow- 
ing beside  this  mysterious  spring,  and  ascended  the 
tripod,  the  seat  of  prophecy  and  divination. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  sacred  vapors  she  inhaled, 
the  Pythoness  was  soothed  by  dreamy  sensations,  fol- 
lowed by  a  state  of  ecstatic  delirium.      While  in   this 
condition   of   religious   frenzy,   she   was   translated   in 
spirit  to  the  domain  of  the  supernatural,  and  held  con- 
verse with  the  gods.      She  revealed  what  she  heard  in 
mysterious  utterances,  which  were  taken  down  by  the 
priest  of  the  temple,  who  reduced  them  to  poetic  form, 
usually  hexameter  verse.     In  this  manner,  the  supposed 
utterances  of  the  deity  were  revealed  to  the  suppliant. 
The  custody  of  the  temple  was  with  a  corrupt  and 
venal  priesthood,  chosen  from  the  wealthy  families  of 
Delphi.     The  suppliants  in  order  to  secure  the  divine 
favor  were  required  to  off'er  sacrifices,  and  place  upon 
the    altar    costly   gifts.      When    they    approached    the 
temple,  they  wore  crowns  of  laurel,  adorned  with  fillets 
of  wool.     The  first  response  of  the  Delphic  oracle,  re- 
ceived by  those  who  had  been  sent  to  learn  the  future 
of  Hellas,  was  a  great  disappointment.     The  prophetic 
utterances  were  ominous,  yet  there  seemed  to  be  no  good 
reason  why  the  oracle  should  fill  with  despondency  and 
blight  the  hopes  of  those  patriots  who  sought  the  wel- 
fare of  Greece,  in  the  impending  conflict  with  Persia. 


It  may  be  suggested,  however,  that  at  this  period  the 
power  and  influence  of  the  priesthood  was  on  the  wane. 
As  the  spirit  of  democracy  and  free  government  devel- 
oped among  the  Hellenes,  the  power  of  the  priesthood 
measurably  diminished.  This  is  the  language  of  the 
prophecy  which  the  suppliants  received  from  the  priest- 
ess of  the  temple  in  answer  to  their  humble  petitions  for 
light  and  guidance: 

"O  wretched  men,  why  sit  ye  here?  Flv  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  leaving  your  houses  and  the  lofty  summits  of  your  wheel- 
shaped  city.  For  neither  does  the  head  remain  firm,  nor  the  body 
nor  the  lowest  feet,  nor  the  hands,  nor  is  aught  of  the  middle  left, 
but  they  are  all  fallen  to  ruin. 

•  "  ^^^j  ^^^  ^"*^  ^^^*  ^^^^'  driving  the  Syrian  chariot,  destroys 
It.  And  he  will  destroy  many  other  turrets,  and  not  yours  alone; 
and  he  will  deliver  many  temples  of  the  immortals  to  devouring 
fire,  which  now  stand  dripping  with  sweat  shaken  with  terror. 
From  the  topmost  roofs,  trickles  black  blood,  pronouncing  inevi- 
table woe.  But  go  from  the  sanctuary,  and  infuse  your  mind 
with  courage  to  meet  misfortune." 

This  deliverance  was  a  cruel  and  savage  onslaught 
aimed  at  the  liberties  of  Greece.     It  foretold  the  failure 
of  all  patriotic  eff^orts  to  resist  the  invasion  of  Xerxes, 
whose  avowed  purpose  was  to  reduce  the  Hellenes  to 
slavery.     It  wouldn't  do  at  all.     In  sheer  disgust  and 
disappointment,  the   suppliants   were   about  to  return 
with   their   dismal   report   to   their   countrymen.      But 
Timon,    an    influential    citizen    of   Delphi,    whose    sym- 
pathies were  with  his  countrymen,  and  who  stood  well 
with  the  aristocratic  order  of  the  priesthood,  prevailed 
upon  the  pilgrims  to  remain  and  renew  their  prayers, 
and  not  depart  until  they  had  received  more  favora- 
ble responses  from  the  gods.       They  accordingly  con- 
tinued   their   supplications,    bringing    other    and    fur- 
ther gifts  to  the  altar.     Figuratively  speaking,   they 
wrestled  with  the  priests  even  as  Jacob  of  old,  accord- 
ing to  the  Hebrew  records,  wrestled  with  the  angel.     In 
due  time  a  second  utterance  was  received  from  the  Py- 


346 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


tiioness.  It  was  but  a  slight  improvement  on  the  first. 
But  m  it,  the  genius  of  Themistocles  read  the  deliver- 
ance of  Greece.  He  interpreted  the  "  wooden  walls  " 
referred  to  by  the  oracle  to  mean  the  Hellenic  navy, 
given  by  Zeus,  which  should  remain  impregnable  and  at 
divme  Salamis,  through  its  instrumentality,  the  enemies 
of  Hellas  should  perish.    Here  is  the  second  prophecy. 

"  PaUas  is  unable  to  propitiate  Olympian  Zeus,  entreatinir  him 
with  many  a  prayer,  and  prudent  counsel.     But  to  you  again  I 
"f«  u  *^  T^^^^  making  it  like  adamant:  ^ 

When  all  is  taken  that  the  limit  of  Cecrops  contains  within  it. 
and  the  recesses  of  divine  Cithaeron,  wide-seeing  Zeus  gives  a 
Itl^^"  i!^^K  *M,  ^^^  Triton-born  goddess,  to  be*"  alone  impreg- 
nable, which  will  preserve  you  and  your  children.     Nor  do  you 

9r«^  ^k"^^'*  !• '  ^^^  u^I^^^y  *"^  ^"^^"*^y  advancing  in  multitudes 

ffTi.      m"""*'"!"*'  **?*  *"^"  y«"'-  back,  and  withdraw.    You  wiU 
still  be  able  to  face  them. 

"  O   divine   Salamis,   thou   shalt   cause   the   sons   of  women   to 
perish,  whether  Ceres  is  scattered  or  gathered  in" » 

In  view  of  the  interpretation  of  this  oracle,  as  con- 
strued by  Themistocles,  although  the  enemy  had 
burned  the  sacred  temples  on  the  Acropolis  and  taken 
their  city  of  the  Violet  Crown,  the  people  were  still 
persuaded  that  their  fleet  was  invincible.  No  possible 
harm  could  befaU  Salamis,  which  the  Gods  had  de- 
clared was  divine. 


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BIBLIOGRAPHIC  IRREGULARITIES 


MAIN 
ENTRY 


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Bibliographic  Irregularities  in  the  Original  Document 
List  volumes  and  pages  affected;  include  name  of  institution  if  filming  borrowed  text. 

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Illegible  and/or  damaged  page(s):. 


.Page(s)  or  volumes(s)  misnumbered:. 
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other:  V.  Z   VA^rl t^ PTPi (i /\)  "^VmXS  M  "i^l 


W-:"^. 


«'jr<«ann^ 


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MILITARY*  ANNAL 
OF   GREECE 

■    IT  T  "T 


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ill  me  ©itjj  of  ^cxo  %ov^ 


BOUGHT    FROM 


THE 


Henry   Drisler 
Classical   Fund 

1895 


THE  MILITARY 
ANNALS  OF  GREECE 


FROM    THE    EARLIEST   TIMES   TO    THE 
BEGINNING   OF   THE   PELOPONNESIAN   WAR 


BY 


William  L.  Snyder 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 
Volume  II 


BOSTON:    RICHARD   G.   BADGER 
The  Copp  Clark  Co.,  limited,  Toronto 


Copyright,  1915,  by  Kiciiard  G.  Badger 


All  Rights  Reserved 


I"  m 


CHAPTEK 

XXIII. 
XXIV. 


XXV. 
XXVI. 

XXVII. 
XXVIII. 


XXX. 

XXXII. 

XXXIII. 


XXXIV. 


The  Goriiam  Press,  Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 


Salamis    ...... 

Himera  —  Defeat  of  Hamilcar  at 
Himera,  in  Sicily,  by  Theron  and 
Gelon  of  Syracuse,  B.  C.  480 

Themistocles     ..... 

Plataea     ...... 

Wars  for  Persian  Expulsion     . 

Sestus  —  Conquest  of  the  Thracean 
Chersonese  —  Xerxes  the  Ahasu- 
crus  of  the  Book  of  Esther  — 
Cruelty  of  Queen  Amestris 
(Vashti)  —  Crucifixion  of  the  Per- 
sian Governor  of  Sestus 

Cyprus  and  Byzantium    . 

Confederacy  of  Delos  B.  C.  478 

Aristides  ..... 

Athens  Under  Cimon,  Becomes  a 
Maritime  Power    .         .       '  . 

The  Athenian  Empire  —  Athens 
Subjugates  her  Allies  and  Attains 
Imperial  Supremacy  —  Her  He- 
gemony becames  an  Empire  and 
Athens  an  Imperial  City 
Internecine  Wars  —  The  Struggle 
for  a  Land  Empire  in  Hellas  — 
Tanagra,  CEnophyta  and  Coronea 


PAGE 

347 


374 
382 
393 
425 


431 
445 
452 
464 

476 


XXXV.     Cimon 


490 


501 
518 


CONTENTS 


OKAPrn 

XXXVI. 


XXXVII. 

XXXVIII. 

XXXIX. 

Xlj. 

XLI. 
XLII. 


The  Thirty  Years'  Peace,  Known 
as  the  Peace  of  Pericles  —  Con- 
temporaneous Events 

Athens  at  Peace    .         .         .         . 

The  Samian  War  .... 

The  Corcyrian  War  —  Epidaninus 

—  Actium  —  Sybota 

The    Peloponnesian   War    and    Its 

Causes       ..... 

Pericles  —  Ancestry  —  Education 

—  Early  Public  Career     . 
Advance  in  Learning  since  the  Age 

of  Pericles,  A  Retrospect  — 
Theory  of  the  Creation  —  Doc- 
trine of  Immortality  Among 
the  Ancients  —  Continuity  as 
Viewed  by  Modern  Science 
Index   ..'.:... 


VAoa 

U^^^l 

535 

1 

546 

fl 

550 

9 

J  ^^^^H' 

556 

'4^^^B 

573 

588 

']^m 

668 
685 


MILITARY  ANNALS 
OF  GREECE 

CHAPTER    XXIII 

SALAMIS 

SALAMIS  —  Sal-a-mis  —  [ZaXafiU].  An  island  in  the  Saronic 
Gulf,  about  ten  miles  long,  immediately  south  of  Megara,  north 
of  iEgina,  and  west  of  Attica.  It  forms  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  bay  of  Eleusis.  The  shore-line  is  separated  from  the 
Attic  coast  by  a  channel  which  varies  in  width,  on  the  north  and 
south,  from  two  to  eighteen  miles.  There  is  a  narrow  passage  in 
the  channel  north  of  the  peninsula  of  Cynosura,  and  south  of  the 
island  of  St.  George  which  in  some  places  is  not  more  than  3,500 
feet  wide.  The  width  between  the  little  island  of  Psyttalea  east 
of  Cynosura  and  west  of  Attica  is  less  than  4,000  feet. 

The  prehistoric  town  of  Salamis  was  on  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  island,  and  was  the  abode  of  the  Telamonian  Ajax.  The 
city  which  flourished  at  the  time  of  the  battle  was  built  by  the 
Athenians  in  the  Attic  demus  of  Salamis,  on  a  good  harbor  at  the 
head  of  a  deep  bay  in  the  east  shore  of  the  island  known  as  the 
bay  of  Ambelakia,  having  for  its  southern  boundary  the  penin- 
sula of  Cynosura.  It  is  claimed,  however,  that  the  new  Salamis 
is  very  ancient  and  was  the  abode  of  Telamon  at  the  time  of  the 
Trojan  War,  and  a  stone  is  still  pointed  out  on  the  bay  of  Am- 
belakia  upon  which  it  is  said  Telamon  seated  himself  when  his 
sons  departed  for  Aulis  on  the  expedition  to  Troy. 

The  conspicuous  features  of  Salamis  were  a  temple  to  Ajax 
and  a  temple  to  Artemis  (Diana).  In  the  Agora,  or  market  place, 
was  a  statue  of  Solon,  with  one  hand  covered  by  his  mantle. 
Close  to  the  city,  also  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  was  the  Village  of 
Ambelakia.  In  a  wider  bay,  immediately  to  the  north,  is  the 
island  now  known  as  St.  George. 

The  weight  of  authority  justifies  the  assumption  that  the  Greek 
fleet  was,  at  the  time  of  the  battle,  drawn  up  in  the  bay  of  Ambe- 
lakia, off  the  town  of  Salamis,  which  by  reason  of  the  width  of  the 
bay,  was  distant  about  four  miles  from  the  coast  of  Attica. 
It  sailed  out  of  the  bay  into  the  channel  at  dawn,  September  20, 

347 


m 


348 


PUEPOSE    OF    EUEYBIADES 


349 


MIL.ITAEY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


B.  C.  480,  fonned  in  the  enemy's  front,  attacked  and  overwhelm- 
ingly defeated  the  fleet  of  Xerxes,  and  drove  them  southward 
through  the  channel  into  the  open  sea,  past  the  peninsula  of  Cyno- 
sura  and  the  island  of  Psyttalea,  which  marked  the  scenes  of 
greatest  slaughter.  The  carnage  ceased  only  when  night  put  an 
end  to  the  conflict. 


[HE  battle  fought  in  the  straits  of  Salamis, 
September  20,  B.  C.  480,  was  the  most  nota- 
ble naval  engagement  of  antiquity.  The 
Greek  fleet  under  Themistocles  and  Eurybi- 
ades  defeated  the  Persian  fleet,  which  fought 
under  the  eye  of  Xerxes,  who  viewed  the  battle  from  his 
gilded  throne,  erected  on  a  rocky  eminence  on  the  shore 
of  Attica,  which  overlooks  the  straits  and  island  of 
Salamis.  The  Persians  outnumbered  the  Greeks  more 
than  three  to  one.  This  engagement  concluded  the  first 
campaign  of  the  second  Persian  War  B.  C.  480. 

The  credit  for  the  victory  of  Salamis  belongs  solely 
to  Themistocles,  the  Athenian,  the  greatest  admiral  and 
strategist  of  his  age.  He  compelled  Eurybiades,  the 
Spartan  commander,  to  fight  in  the  straits,  after  the 
proposition  had  been  voted  down  twice,  in  council. 
Themistocles  saw  very  clearly  what  his  associates  were 
unable  or  unwilling  to  see,  that  if  he  could  get  the  Per- 
sians to  fight  in  the  narrow  straits,  the  numerical  supe- 
riority of  the  enemy  would  not  avail,  and  their  num- 
bers would  retard  and  embarrass  rather  than  aid  them, 
because  they  would  not  have  sufficient  sea  room  to 
manoeuvre  their  many  ships  to  advantage  in  the  chan- 
nel. The  Greeks,  on  the  other  hand,  with  a  compara- 
tively small  number  of  ships,  would  have  the  advantage 
because  a  large  part  of  the  Persian  fleet  would  be  pre- 
cluded from  taking  part.  But  the  clear  and  forcible 
argument  of  Themistocles  fell  upon  deaf  ears.  The 
Spartans  were  dull  or  stupid  or  both,  and  they 
promptly  voted  against  every  plan  proposed  by  the 
Athenian  commander. 


The  latter  saw  clearly  that  if  Eurybiades  succeeded 
in  holding  the  council  to  his  determination  not  to  en- 
gage, that  Athens  was  lost.  The  Spartan  adniiral,  be- 
ing able  to  control  the  vote  of  his  associates,  intended 
to  sail  to  the  Peloponnese,  to  protect  its  ports,  and 
leave  Athens  to  her  fate,  urging  as  his  excuse,  that  the 
numerical  strength  of  the  fleet  was  such  that  they  could 
not  aff'ord  to  risk  a  battle  in  the  straits,  where  the 
enemy,  with  their  powerful  armament,  might  be  able  to 
destroy  the  Greek  navy.  The  features  of  the  situation 
which  to  the  dull  mind  of  Eurybiades  seemed  most  un- 
favorable, were  those  which  to  the  mind  of  Themistocles 
afforded  the  greatest  hope  of  success. 

When  the  Greek  fleet  sailed  from  Artemisium,  after 
the  defeat   of  Leonidas   at   Thermopylae,   as   narrated 
in  a  previous  chapter   (q.  v.)   and  when  news  was  re- 
ceived that  Athens  had  fallen,  the  intention  of  Eury- 
biades was  to  proceed  to  the  Peloponnesus,  without  of- 
fering any  assistance  to  the  inhabitants  of  Attica.     He 
did  not  deem  such  assistance  necessary,  because  Athens 
was   too   weak   to   resist   alone   the  invading  army   of 
Xerxes  and  in  anticipation  of  his   approach,  the  in- 
habitants  had   deserted   the   city,   and   fled  with  their 
families  for  refuge  to  Salamis,  JEgina,  Corinth,  Troe- 
zen  and  other  places  in  the  Peloponnese.    Themistocles, 
however,  prevailed  upon  the  Spartan  admiral  to  tarry 
in  the  straits  to  give  some  measure  of  protection  to  the 
Athenians    who    had    taken    refuge    on    the    island    of 
Salamis.    When  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Athens  reached 
the  fleet,  Eurybiades  resolved  to   sail  at  once  to  the 
Peloponnesus,  and  leave  Athens  and  Salamis  to  their 
fate.    A  council  of  war  was  held  and  the  majority  voted 
to  sail  to  the'  isthmus  to  defend  the  Peloponnesus,  but 
the  approach  of  night  alone  prevented  the  order  from 
being  immediately  executed. 

Mnesiphilus,  an  influential  Athenian,  the  same  eve- 
ning sought  Themistocles  to  find  out  what  the  navy 


350 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


intended  to  do  at  this  critical  juncture,  and  was  told 
that  the  fleet  was  ordered  to  the  isthmus.  "  If  they 
remove  the  ships  from  Salamis,"  said  Mnesiphilus, 
"you  will  no  longer  fight  for  any  country,  for  they 
will  each  betake  themselves  to  their  cities,  and  neither 
will  Eurybiades  nor  any  one  else  be  able  to  detain  them, 
and  all  Greece  will  perish.  If  there  is  any  possible 
way,  have  the  decree  annulled  and  persuade  Eurybiades 
to  alter  his  determination  and  remain  here." 

The  situation  in  which  Themistocles  was  placed  was 
critical  and  perplexing.  A  man  of  ordinary  abilities 
under  the  circumstances  would  have  failed.  If  Themis- 
tocles had  not  been  possessed  of  intrepid  courage  and 
commanding  genius,  Eurybiades  and  his  short-sighted, 
selfish,  unpatriotic  associates  would  have  deserted  their 
countrymen,  retreated  to  their  own  shores,  and  allowed 
the  Persian  hosts  to  remain  in  peaceful  possession  of 
Northern  and  Central  Greece.  The  inevitable  result 
would  have  been  the  subjugation  of  Hellas,  and  the  ex- 
tension of  the  empire  of  Cyrus  to  the  shores  of  the 
Adriatic,  perhaps  to  the  gates  of  Hercules.  Themis- 
tocles saw  that  failure  at  Salamis  meant  the  destruc- 
tion of  his  country,  the  abolition  of  free  government, 
and  the  triumph  of  Persia.  He  determined  to  force 
Eurybiades  to  fight  and  to  so  manoeuvre  as  to  compel 
Xerxes  to  block  both  ends  of  the  strait  with  his  great 
navy,  so  that  the  Greek  fleet  could  not  possibly  escape, 
but  must  conquer  the  enemy  or  perish  where  it  lay  in 
the  waters  of  the  Saronic  Gulf. 

Xerxes  was  to  be  unwillingly  forced  to  aid  the  plans 
of  Themistocles.  The  designs  of  Eurybiades,  who  con- 
templated retreat,  were  defeated  through  a  clever  bit 
of  strategy  which  made  Xerxes  the  instrument  to  bring 
about  the  result.  The  plan  was  to  force  both  Greeks 
and  Persians  to  fight  where  they  were.  The  task  which 
Themistocles  undertook  was  difficult  but  it  was  success- 
fully accomplished. 


ADVICE    OF    AETEMISIA 


351 


Posterity  is  indebted  to  Herodotus  for  a  report  of 
the  discussions  which  took  place  in  the  councils  of  both 
Greeks   and   Persians,   immediately   before   the   battle. 
Xerxes,  as  soon  as  his  fleet  arrived  at  Phalerum,  was 
desirous  to  learn  the  opinion  of  his  commanders  and 
admirals  of  the  several  nations  which  composed  his  navy 
as  to  the  advisability  of  a  naval  engagement.    A  coun- 
cil was  held  for  this  purpose.     Xerxes  presided,  with 
the  King  of  Sidon  seated  at  his  right,  and  the  King 
of  Tyre  at  his  left.     Those  assembled  did  not  address 
their  monarch  on  the  floor  of  the  assembly,  but  Mar- 
donius,   the   King's   brother-in-law,   was   instructed   to 
ask  each  his  opinion.     All  advised  in  favor  of  an  en- 
gagement except  Artemisia,  Queen   of  Halicamassus, 
the   city   where   Herodotus   himself   was   bom.      Some 
writers  assign  this  circumstance  as  a  /reason  why  the 
historian  makes  her  appear  to  advantage  in  the  council. 
She  reminded  Mardonius  that  she  had  fought  well  in 
the  naval   engagements   at   Artemisium   off   the   north 
coast  of  Euboea,  so  as  to  emphasize  her  loyalty  and 
then    said   that   she   was   justified   in    giving   her   real 
opinion,  as  to  what  would  be  most  advantageous  for 
the  Persians.     "  Spare  your  ships,"  she  said,  "  do  not 
risk  a  sea-fight,  for  the  Greeks  in  seamanship  are  as 
much  superior  to  your  crews  as  men  are  superior  to 
women.     Why  do  you  desire  to  risk  a  naval  engage- 
ment.^    It  is  not  necessary.     Have  you  not  possession 
of  Athens  for  the  sake  of  which  you  undertook  this 
expedition,  and  have  you  not  the  rest  of  Greece?     No 
one  stands  in  your  way;    and  those  who  still  hold  out 
against  you  have  fared  as  they  deserved.     You  will 
readily   accomplish  your   purpose,   if  you  keep  your 
fleet  here,  remaining  near  land,  or  even  advancing  to 
the  Peloponnesus.     Because  the  Greeks  will  not  be  able 
to  hold  out  long.     You  will  disperse  them,  and  they 
will  fly  to  their  respective  cities.     I  am  informed  they 
have  no  provisions  on  Salamis,  and  if  you  march  your 


352 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


land  forces  to  the  Peloponnesus,  it  is  not  probable  that 
those  Greeks,  who  came  from  thence  will  remain  quiet  ; 
nor  will  they  care  to  fight  at  sea  for  the  Athenians. 
But  if  you  risk  a  sea-fight,  and  are  beaten,  it  might 
bring  disaster  to  the  land  forces.  Consider  also  that 
good  masters  usually  have  bad  slaves,  and  bad  masters 
good  slaves.  You,  who  are  the  best  of  men,  have  bad 
slaves  among  your  allies,  the  Egyptians,  Cyprians, 
Cilicians  and  Pamphylians ;   and  these  are  of  no  use  at 

Thus  did  the  woman,  the  queen  of  the  native  city  of 
Herodotus,  the  commander  of  a  squadron  in  the  navy 
of  Xerxes,  use  her  endeavors  to  dissuade  her  sovereign 
from  risking  a  battle  at  sea.  Her  enemies  in  the  coun- 
cil were  pleased  at  what  she  said,  because  they  believed 
that  her  words  would  anger  the  King,  and  might  cost 
her  her  life.  But  Xerxes,  we  are  told,  was  greatly 
pleased  when  her  opinion  was  reported  to  him.  He 
greatly  admired  her  abilities  and  the  courage  she  dis- 
played in  battle.  Her  objections,  however,  were  over- 
ruled. Xerxes  concluded  to  engage  the  enemy  at  sea, 
and  said  that  his  fleet  did  well  at  Artemisium,  but  did 
not  do  its  best.  This  he  attributed  to  the  fact  that  he 
was  not  personally  present  to  witness  the  engagement. 
He  said  the  navy  could  do  much  better  if  he  were 
present.  He  concluded,  therefore,  to  disregard  the 
sage  advice  of  the  woman,  the  most  sensible  suggestions 
he  had  received,  and  fight. 

The  discussions  and  fierce  denunciations  which  char- 
acterized the  debates  in  the  council  called  by  Eury- 
biades  aboard  his  flag-ship,  were  in  marked  contrast 
with  these  calm  and  dove-like  proceedings  in  the  coun- 
cil assembled  by  Xerxes.  After  the  departure  of  Mnesi- 
philus,  who  called  on  the  Athenian  admiral,  as  above 
stated,  and  urged  him,  if  possible,  to  secure  a  reversal 

» Herod,  viii,  68, 


ARGUMENT    OF    THEMISTOCLES 


353 


of  the  order,  directing  the  fleet  to  sail  to  the  isthmus, 
Themistocles  resolved  to  hinder  the  departure  of  the 
ships  and  force  an  engagement  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment.  As  soon  as  Mnesiphilus  departed,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  flag-ship  and  requested  an  interview  with 
Eurybiades.  The  request  was  granted,  and  Themis- 
tocles tried  to  show  the  Spartan  that  the  only  hope  of 
success  was  to  stay  where  they  were  and  fight.  He 
finally  prevailed  upon  Eurybiades  to  again  convoke  the 
commanders  in  council.  When  they  were  assembled, 
Themistocles  made  a  strong  and  powerful  plea  in  favor 
of  remaining  where  they  were.  He  was  strongly  op- 
posed by  his  old  enemy  Adimantus,  the  Corinthian, 
who  had  formerly  threatened  to  abandon  the  fleet  at 
Artemisium  and  was  bribed  by  Themistocles  to  remain 

and  do  his  duty. 

While  making  his  argument,  Adimantus  interrupted 
him,  saying :  "  In  the  games,  Themistocles,  those  who 
start  before  the  time  are  beaten  with  stripes."  Then 
came  the  ready  retort,  "  but  those  who  are  left  behind 
are  not  crowned."  Plutarch  says  that  in  the  course  of 
the  debate  Eurybiades  became  enraged  and  in  his  ex- 
citement advanced  towards  Themistocles,  lifting  his 
staff  as  if  to  strike,  when  the  latter  exclaimed :  "  Strike, 
but  hear  me."  Eurybiades  was  amazed  at  his  modera- 
tion, and  bade  him  continue.  Themistocles,  then  turn- 
ing to  Eurybiades  and  the  assemblage,  said : 

"  It  now  rests  with  you  to  save  Greece.  This  you 
can  do  if  you  will  remain  and  give  battle,  and  be  not 
persuaded  by  those  who  urge  you  to  sail  to  the  Isthmus. 
Analyze  and  compare  each  opinion.  If  you  fight  near 
the  Isthmus,  you  must  fight  in  the  open  sea,  where  it 
is  least  advantageous  to  us,  whose  ships  are  heavier 
and  fewer  in  number.  Consider  also  that  even  if  you 
succeed,  your  departure  for  the  Isthmus  involves  the 
abandonment  and  loss  of  Salamis,  and  Megara,  and 
^gina,  because  the  Persian  land  forces  will  follow  close 


354 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    G&££C£ 


upon  their  navy,  and  thus  you  will  be  the  means  of 
leading  them  to  the  Peloponnesus,  and  expose  all  Greece 
to  danger. 

"  If,  however,  you  follow  my  advice,  you  will  secure 
the  following  advantages :  In  the  first  place,  it  is  ob- 
vious that  by  engaging  in  a  narrow  space  with  a  few 
ships  against  many,  if  the  probable  results  which  ex- 
perience has  shown,  are  most  likely  to  happen,  we  shall 
have  a  much  superior  advantage,  because  to  fight  in  a 
narrow  space  is  advantageous  to  us;  but  in  a  wide 
space  to  them.  Again,  we  shall  save  Salamis,  where 
are  now  our  wives  and  children.  Consider  also  that  by 
remaining  you  will  fight  just  as  much  for  the  Pelopon- 
nesus as  if  you  fought  at  the  Isthmus.  If  you  are  wise, 
therefore,  you  will  not  lead  the  enemy's  land  forces  to 
the  Peloponnesus.  If  we  succeed  with  our  fleet  here, 
the  barbarians  will  not  advance  to  the  Isthmus,  but 
will  retreat  from  Attica  in  confusion  which  we  shall 
gain  also  by  saving  Megara,  and  JSgina  and  Salamis, 
where  it  is  announced  by  the  oracle,  we  shall  be  superior 
to  our  enemies. 

"Fortune  favors  those  who  follow  what  is  reason- 
able ;  but  the  fortunes  of  those  who  do  not  follow  what 
is  reasonable,  the  gods  do  not  favor." 

Thus  Themistocles  pleaded  the  cause  of  Greece,  his 
demands  were  reasonable  and  just  and  had  his  asso- 
ciates possessed  the  liberal  patriotic  spirit  of  the  Athe- 
nian, the  order  would  have  been  given  to  fight  at 
Salamis.  The  admiral  was  now  to  be  insulted  by  his 
old  enemy  and  rival,  Adimantus  of  Corinth.  Of  course 
the  latter  dwelt  on  the  Isthmus,  and  naturally  desired 
the  fleet  as  near  his  own  door  as  possible.  But  this  fact 
did  not  excuse  him  for  the  insult  he  addressed  to  a  fel- 
low-ofl5cer  in  whose  veins  also  ran  Hellenic  blood.  Adi- 
mantus challenged  the  right  of  Themistocles  to  address 
the  officers  of  the  fleet.  He  arose  and  addressing  Eury- 
biades    reminded    him    that   Athens    had    fallen,    that 


KEBUKE    TO    ADIMANTUS 


355 


Themistocles  had  no  city  to  represent  and  that  the  ad- 
miral had  no  right  to  put  a  question  to  the  council  to 
vote  upon,  unless  it  was  raised  by  some  one  who  repre- 
sented a  Grecian  city,  and  then  turning  to  Themistocles 
bade  him  be  silent,  because  as  his  city  was  lost,  he  had 
no  right  to  speak. 

Themistocles  arose  and  made  his  final  appeal.  In 
reply  to  the  ungrateful  speech  of  the  Corinthian,  he 
reminded  him  that  although  Athens  had  fallen  tempo- 
rarily into  the  hands  of  the  barbarian,  he  still  repre- 
sented a  city,  a  powerful  city,  the  strongest  in  Greece. 
That  city  was  the  Athenian  navy,  which  comprised  200 
ships,  more  than  half  of  the  entire  Greek  fleet,  which 
numbered  but  366  vessels.  Then  turning  to  Eurybi- 
ades,  he  continued :  "  If  you  remain  here,  you  will  show 
by  your  actions  that  you  are  a  brave  man.  If  you 
will  not  remain,  then  you  will  ruin  Greece.  Because 
the  success  or  failure  of  the  war  depends  upon  the  fleet, 
and  on  the  fleet  alone.  Therefore,  yield,  I  entreat,  to 
my  advice.  But  if  you  refuse,  then  we  Athenians  will 
take  our  wives  and  children  aboard  our  ships,  and  de- 
part to  Siris  in  Italy,  which  is  an  ancient  possession  of 
ours,  and  the  oracles  declare  it  is  fated  to  be  founded 
by  us.  Then,  when  bereft  of  such  allies,  when  it  is  too 
late,  you  will  remember  my  words." 

If  the  selfish  Peloponnesians  dreamed  that  the  Athe- 
nians would  meekly  surrender  Attica,  at  their  behest, 
abandon  Athens,  and  lend  the  Peloponnesians  their  ships 
to  protect  their  shores,  the  dream  was  dispelled.  Eury- 
biades  was  now  compelled  to  choose  between  shame  and 
honor.  The  assembly  was  obliged  to  decide  either  to 
support  the  Athenians,  who  contributed  200  ships  out 
of  a  total  of  336,  to  protect  Attica  and  Salamis,  or 
fight  alone.  They  were  plainly  told  that  the  Athenians 
would  not  remain  in  Greece,  to  be  abandoned  to  the 
overwhelming  hosts  of  Xerxes.  They  would  sail  away 
towards  the  setting  sun  and,  in  fair  Italy,  found  an- 


3S6 


MILITARY    ANKALS    OF    GREECE 


other  Athens.  On  the  answer  of  Eurybiades  and  his 
associates  hung  the  fate  of  Greece. 

We  may  be  allowed  to  speculate  on  the  momentous 
character  of  the  issues  impending.  What  if  Themis- 
tocles  had  founded  a  new  Athens  on  the  shores  of 
Italy.?  Would  Rome,  whose  future  fame  filled  the 
world,  have  been  a  Greek,  not  a  Latin  city.?  Would 
the  language  and  civilization  of  the  West  and  the  East 
have  been  Greek?  Would  the  Punic  Wars  which  in- 
volved the  fate  of  Carthage  have  been  fought  for  the 
supremacy  of  Greek  instead  of  Latin  civilization.? 
The  fate  of  the  ancient  world  was  involved  in  the  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  Persian  arms  should  force  the  civi- 
lization of  Greece  to  establish  itself  in  Italy,  because 
Hellas  refused  to  unite  and  stand  together  in  the  crisis 
caused  by  the  fall  of  Athens. 

The  final  appeal  of  Themistocles  had  its  effect. 
Eurybiades  determined  not  to  sail,  but  to  remain  at 
Salamis.  Herodotus  says,  in  his  opinion,  Eurybiades 
reached  this  conclusion,  not  because  he  was  convinced 
by  the  reasons  assigned  by  the  Athenians,  but  because 
he  was  afraid  that  if  he  went  to  the  Isthmus,  the  Athe- 
nian fleet  would  desert  them  and  sail  to  Italy.  He 
knew  that  the  remainder  of  his  squadron  of  but  166 
vessels  would  be  no  match  for  the  enemy.  The  order 
was  given  to  stay  at  Salamis,  and  the  council  dis- 
persed. 

At  sunrise  on  the  following  morning  the  shock  of 
an  earthquake  was  felt  on  both  land  and  sea.  The 
Greeks  then  off^ered  prayers  and  supplications  to  the 
gods  and  invoked  the  aid  of  Telamon  and  Ajax,  the 
heroes  of  Salamis,  and  a  vessel  was  dispatched  to 
iEgina  to  fetch  ^Eacus  himself  and  other  iEacidae. 

Meantime,  the  Greeks  at  the  Isthmus  toiled  inces- 
santly to  put  themselves  in  a  posture  of  defense,  to  be 
able  to  repel  an  invasion  of  the  Peloponnesus,  for  the 
barbarians  had  begun  their  march  thither.     When  the 


EUSE    OF    THEMISTOCLES 


357 


Lacedaemonians  learned  of  the  death  of  Leonidas,  at 
Thermopylae,  the  inhabitants  of  the  peninsula  flocked 
to  the  Isthmus  under  the  command  of  Cleombrotus, 
brother  of  Leonidas,  regent  for  Pleistarchus,  the  in- 
fant son  of  Leonidas.  They  first  blocked  up  the  Sciro- 
nian  Way,  a  road  which  led  from  Megara  to  Corinth, 
along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Isthmus.  A  short  dis- 
tance from  Megara  it  passed  along  the  Scironian  rocks, 
a  range  of  shelving  cliff^s,  overhanging  the  sea,  along 
the  foot  of  a  spur  of  Mount  Gerania.  The  only  other 
route  by  which  the  Isthmus  can  be  traversed  runs  in- 
land through  the  defiles  of  a  higher  part  of  the  Gera- 
nian  mountains.  The  number  of  land  forces  at  the 
Isthmus  amounted  to  many  tens  of  thousands,  including 
Lacedaemonians,  Eleans,  Corinthians,  Sicyonians,  Epi- 
daurians,  Phliasians,  Troezenians,  Hermionians  and 
tribes  of  the  Arcadians.  After  the  Scironian  Way  was 
blocked,  the  Greeks  built  a  wall  across  the  Isthmus, 
which  is  about  four  miles  wide  at  its  narrowest  part. 
Where  the  wall  was  built  it  was  about  five  miles  across. 
Every  man  in  the  army  worked  on  the  wall,  which  was 
of  stone,  brick,  timber  and  bastions,  or  baskets  filled 
with  sand. 

News  reached  the  Peloponnesian  commanders  in  the 
fleet  as  to  what  transpired  at  the  Isthmus,  and  they 
began  to  fear  for  the  safety  of  those  in  the  peninsula, 
as  it  was  rumored  the  barbarian  land  forces  were  going 
to  invade  the  Peloponnesus.  Notwithstanding,  it  was 
agreed  at  the  council  the  night  before  to  stay  at 
Salamis,  the  officers  began  next  day  to  murmur  and  ex- 
press their  discontent.  They  wondered  at  the  impru- 
dence of  Eurybiades.  At  first  they  conversed  in  low 
tones,  each  man  with  his  fellow.  Then  their  mutterings 
grew  louder,  and  before  the  day  was  over,  they  insisted 
that  another  council  be  held  to  reconsider  what  had  been 
done  the  night  before.  When  the  commanders  were  as- 
sembled,   Themistocles    saw    that    the    Peloponnesians 


358 


MIUTA&Y   ANNALS    OF    6E££C£ 


would  carry  the  vote  against  him.  He  then  determined 
to  thwart  them  by  contriving  to  make  Xerxes  close 
both  ends  of  the  strait,  so  that  Eurybiades  could  not 
sail  away,  even  if  he  wished. 

He  went  secretly  out  of  the  council  and  sought 
Sicinnus,  one  of  his  household  slaves,  a  man  of  ability 
and  learning,  who  acted  as  tutor  to  his  sons.  Plutarch 
says  that  Sicinnus  was  a  Persian  captive,  and  was 
strongly  attached  and  devoted  to  his  master.  JEschy- 
lus,  in  his  drama,  "  The  Persians,"  says  he  was  a  Greek. 
Mr.  Grote,  to  reconcile  these  statements,  suggests  that 
he  may  have  been  an  Asiatic  Greek.  The  object  of 
Themistocles  was  through  the  agency  of  Sicinnus,  to 
make  Xerxes  believe  that  the  Greeks  were  hopelessly 
divided  among  themselves,  some  being  desirous  even  of 
aligning  themselves  with  the  barbarians,  that  their 
camp  was  in  the  utmost  confusion ;  that  they  meditated 
flight ;  and  all  Xerxes  had  to  do  was  to  surround  their 
fleet,  enter  the  channel  and  seize  the  entire  armament. 

It  was  indeed  a  desperate  expedient  to  which  Themis- 
tocles now  resorted.  He  was  about  to  use  Xerxes  to 
shut  in  the  Greek  fleet,  and  close  every  avenue  of  escape 
to  his  countrymen.  What  if  Persia  shut  his  fleet  in  the 
strait  forever.?  What  if  Hellas  lost  the  battle.?  To 
the  mind  of  Themistocles  it  were  better  the  Hellenic 
navy  should  lie  at  the  bottom  of  the  Saronic  gulf,  than 
suffer  humihation  and  defeat,  and  become  fugitives  and 
wanderers  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  remedy  was  desperate;  but  it  was  not  more  so 
than  the  disease.  Themistocles  carefully  confided  his 
plans  to  Sicinnus,  and  instructed  him  what  to  say.  The 
faithful  messenger  was  then  put  aboard  a  merchant  ship 
and  escaped  into  the  Persian  lines.  Sicinnus  asked  to 
be  taken  at  once  to  the  commander  and  delivered  this 
message :  "  The  Athenian  commander  has  sent  me  to 
you  privately  without  the  knowledge  of  the  other 
Greeks  for  he  is  in  the  interest  of  your  King,  and  pre- 


XERXES    BLOCKADES    CHANNEL 


359 


fers  that  you,  rather  than  his  own  countrymen,  should 
succeed.  He  bade  me  tell  you  that  the  Greeks  are  in  a 
state  of  consternation  and  confusion,  and  are  deliber- 
ating on  flight.  Now  is  your  opportunity.  Do  not  suff^er 
them  to  escape.  They  will  not  oppose  you.  They  are 
even  now  quarrelling  among  themselves.  You  may  wit- 
ness a  fight  already  begun  between  such  as  favor  and 
such  as  oppose  you." 

Having  delivered  his  message  he  was  permitted  to 
depart.     Darkness  had  set  in.     The  barbarians  were 
jubilant.     A  body  of  Persians,  selected  by  Xerxes  for 
their  beauty,  valor  and  fidelity  to  their  sovereign,  many 
of  them  of  royal  blood,  was  detailed  and  sent  to  the 
small  island  of  Psyttalea,  at  the  southern  entrance  to 
the   straits   and   midway  between   the   Piraeus   and   the 
eastern  extremity  Cynosura,  a  promontory  of  Salamis. 
These  were  instructed  to  save  their  own  men,  but  to 
permit  none  of  the  enemy  to  escape.     As  midnight  ap- 
proached, they   advanced  their  western  wing  towards 
Salamis  so  as  to  enclose  the  Greeks.     In  order  to  pre- 
vent the  escape  of  the  enemy  northward,  through  the 
straits  of  Megara,  a  detachment  of  two  hundred  ships 
was  ordered  to  sail  north  into  the  bay  of  Eleusis  and 
the  Megaric  channel,  in  order  to  block  any  attempt  at 
flight  in  that  direction.    Diodorus  says  that  this  squad- 
ron was  composed  entirely  of  Egyptian  vessels.    At  the 
same  time  the  ships  south  and  east  along  the  shores  of 
Salamis  and  Attica  moved  into  the  mouth  of  the  chan- 
nel, and  filled  the  whole  strait,  so  that  the  flight  of  their 
enemies  was  impossible.    Eurybiades  and  the  Greek  fleet 
were  shut  in,  and  Themistocles  had  his  way.     These 
silent  movements  of  the  barbarians  by  which  they  sur- 
rounded the  Hellenic  fleet  occupied  the  night,  but  Eury- 
biades and  his  associates  were  wholly  unaware  of  what 
was  being  done,  until  told  by  Aristides  that  they  were 
completely  surrounded  by  the  enemy. 

Colonel  Leake  is  of  opinion,  and  his  views  seem  to 


36o 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


be  amply  supported  by  the  evidence  we  have  on  the 
subject,  that  the  Persians  made  two  movements.     The 
first  was  m  the  afternoon,  when  they  advanced  their 
fleet  from  the  bay  of  Phalerum  to  the  Pir«us.     The 
second  movement  was  made  in  the  night.     When  the 
enemy  learned  from  Sicinnus,  after  darkness  had  set 
in,  that  the  Greeks  would  offer  no  resistance,  if  the  Per- 
^ans  bold^  entered  the  channel,  and  surrounded  them. 
1  hen  the  Persian  admiral  sent  the  Egyptian  squadron, 
above  referred  to,  into  the  Gulf  of  Eleusis  in  the  strait 
between  the  coast  of  Megara  and  the  north  shore  of 
halamis  to  block  the  straits  on  the  north,  and  prevent 
the  escape  of  the  enemy  in  that  quarter,  and  also  sent 
his  ships  directly  into  the  channel,  thus  surrounding 
the  enemy  on  all  sides.  ^ 

The  Persian  admiral  at  Salamis,  according  to  Ctesias, 
who  compiled  his  history  from  Persian  sources,  was 
Onaphas,  father-in-law  of  Xerxes.  But  Herodotus  says 
the  admiral  s  name  was  Ariabignes,  the  King's  brother, 
born  before  Darius  became  king  and  who  contended 
with  Aerxes  for  the  crown. 

While  the  Greeks  were  disputing  in  council  as  to  the 
propriety  of  sailing  to  the  Isthmus,  at  dawn,  Aristides 
crossed  over  f  roin  the  island  of  ^gina,  and  sought  out 
Ihemistocles  with  whom  he  desired  to  confer      The 
latter  was  at  the  council.     A  messenger  entered  and 
told  bim  privately  that  a  friend  desired  to  talk  with 
^im.     When  Themistocles  came  out,  Aristides  stood  be- 
fore  him.      These   distinguished   men   had   fought   to- 
gether at  Marathon ;    they  held  the  centre  in  that  en- 
gagement against  the  Persians  and  Sac*,  the  flower  of 
the  barbarian   army.      Subsequently   they  had  become 
bitter  political   rivals,  and  through  the   influence  and 
machinations  of  Themistocles,  Aristides  was  ostracised 
and  banished  for  ten  years.     When  Athens  was  again 
threatened  with  a  second  Persian  invasion,  the  patriot- 
ism of  Themistocles  asserted  itself,  and  he  procured 


AEISTIDES    AND    TIJEMISTOCLES 


361 


the  unjust  decree  of  banishment  to  be  vacated,  and  an- 
nulled, and  Aristides  was  recalled.  In  the  face  of  com- 
mon danger  to  their  country,  the  two  men  forgot  their 
diff^erences.  According  to  Plutarch,  Aristides  thus  ad- 
dressed his  old  friend  and  comrade: 

"  If  we  have  any  discretion,  Themistocles,  laying 
aside  at  this  time  our  vain  and  childish  contentions,  let 
us  enter  upon  a  safe  and  honorable  dispute,  vying 
with  each  other  for  the  preservation  of  Greece;  you  in 
the  ruling  and  commanding,  I  in  the  subservient  and 
advising  part;  even,  indeed,  as  I  now  understand  you 
to  be  alone,  adhering  to  the  best  advice,  in  counselling 
without  any  delay  to  engage  in  the  straits.  And  in  this, 
though  our  own  party  oppose,  the  enemy  seem  to  assist 
you.  For  the  sea  behind,  and  all  around  us,  is  covered 
with  their  fleet;  so  that  we  are  under  necessity  of  ap- 
proving ourselves  men  of  courage.  For  we  must  fight, 
whether  we  will  or  no ;  for  we  are  surrounded  on  all 
sides  and  can  no  longer  escape  by  flight." 

He  then  told  that  he  had  come  from  ^gina,  and  it 
was  with  great  difficulty  that  he  was  able  to  elude  the 
vigilance  of  the  enemy  which  now  surrounded  the  Greek 
fleet.  He  begged  Themistocles  to  return  to  the  council 
and  break  the  news  to  Eurybiades,  and  tell  him  that  an 
eye-witness  had  arrived,  who  would  support  the  state- 
ment. 

Themistocles  greeted  Aristides  cordially  and  said  he 
brought  good  news.  Then  he  revealed  to  his  old  com- 
rade the  fact  that  what  Aristides  had  seen,  he  had  him- 
self brought  about,  because  he  found  it  necessary,  as 
Eurybiades  and  the  Peloponnesians  would  not,  of  their 
own  accord,  fight  in  the  straits.  He  then  requested 
Aristides  to  go  into  the  council  and  break  the  news, 
saying  they  would  not  credit  it,  coming  from  Themis- 
tocles. Aristides  entered.  The  debate  was  in  progress. 
He  delivered  his  message.  Many  doubted  what  he  said. 
At  this  juncture  a  Tenian  trireme  arrived,  having  de- 


362 


MILITABT   ANXALS    OF    GREECE 


serted  from  the  fleet  of  Xerxes.  It  was  commanded  by 
Panaetius,  who  gave  an  account  of  the  movements  of  the 
enemy,  and  assured  the  council  that  their  fleet  was  com- 
pletely surrounded. 

/A  battle  then  and  there  was  no  longer  a  matter  of 
choice,  but  of  necessity.  The  enemy  having  surrounded 
the  Greeks  and  defied  them,  the  latter  now  became 
united  and  vied  with  one  another,  as  to  who  could  out- 
strip the  other  in  deeds  of  valor.  One  touch  of  Persian 
defiance  made  Hellas  one.  Every  man  in  the  fleet  felt 
proud  of  his  Hellenic  blood.  His  patriotism  was 
kindled.  The  gauge  of  battle  was  thrown  down  by  the 
sons  of  Perseus,  and  the  men  of  Hellas  must  conquer  or 
die.     There  was  no  alternative. 

The  bit  of  clever  strategy  resorted  to  by  Themis- 
tocles  to  compel  the  enemy  to  surround  the  Greeks  and 
make  them  fight  against  their  will  is  referred  to  by 
^schylus,  who  took  part  in  the  engagement,  in  his 
musical  drama,  entitled  "  The  Persians."  In  this  pro- 
duction an  account  of  the  reverse  at  Salamis  is  given 
by  a  courier  fresh  from  the  scene,  who  arrives  at  Susa 
and  in  the  royal  palace,  pours  into  the  ears  of  Atossa, 
the  queen-mother,  the  mournful  details.  He  thus  refers 
to  the  strategy  of  Themistocles : 


II 


The  spring  of  all  this  misery, 
Was  some  Avenger;   or  some  angry  god. 
For  from  the  Athenian  host  a  Greek  arrived. 
And  to  thy  son,  King  Xerxes,  tidings  spake; 
To  wit;   that  if  night's  blackness  should  arrive. 
The  Greeks  would  stay  not,  but  upon  their  decks 
Leaping  in  panic,  seek  their  lives  to  save 
By  secret  flight,  one  here,  one  there  afar. 
Now  Xerxes  heard,  yet  marking  not  the  trick 
Of  Greek  informer,  nor  ill-will  of  heaven 
To  all  his  captains  proclamation  make; 
When  Helios,  lighting  with  his  rays  the  earth 
Shall  cease,  and  gloom  the  Ether's  temple  hold; 
To  range  the  throng  of  ships  in  triple  lines 
To  guard  all  exits  and  the  seaward  paths; 
Others  he  bade  round  Ajax*s  Isle  to  wheel; 


THEONE    OF    XEEXES    ON    MT.    iEGALEOS  363 

For  if  the  Grecians  should  escape  their  doom 
By  finding  hidden  loop  holes  for  their  ships. 
Beheading  was,  to  all,  the  stern  decree. 
And  all  night  long  the  captains  of  the  fleet. 
Kept  their  crews  moving  up  and  down  the  strait. 
So  the  night  waned,  and  not  one  Grecian  shiu 
Made  efi'ort  to  elude  or  slip  away."      ^^^ 

When  morning  broke  it  became  apparent  that  Sicin- 
nus,  the  messenger  sent  by  Themistocles,  had  deceived 
Xerxes,  when  he  told  him  that  the  Greeks  were  in  a  state 
of  confusion,  and  would  make  no  resistance,  when  they 
saw  that  flight  was  impossible.     There  was  no  con- 
fusion in  the  Greek  alignment.     On  the  contrary  the 
enemy  presented  a  united  front,  and  the  Persian  mon- 
arch began  to  realize  that  a  terrible  struggle  was  im- 
minent.    Xerxes,  as  he  had  done  at  Thermopylae,  had 
ordered  a  throne  to  be  erected  under  Mount  ^Egaleos, 
on  an  eminence  which  overlooked  the  straits  on  which 
was  placed  his   silver-footed  chair,  beneath  a  purple 
canopy  fringed  with  gold.     Here  the  King  seated  him- 
self early  in  the  morning  to  view  the  conflict.     About 
him  were  gathered  the  principal  officers  of  his  house- 
hold.    An  attendant  held  the  imperial  parasol  oyer  his 
head.     At  his  side  were  the  scribes,  who  were  directed 
to  write  down  the  names  of  those  who  had  distinguished 
themselves   in   the    action.      The    spot   where   Xerxes' 
throne  was  erected  was  doubtless  under  Mount  ^ga- 
leos,  not  upon  its  summit.     The  highest  point  of  that 
eminence  commands  a  view  not  only  of  the  Saronic 
Gulf,  but  of  part  of  Attica,  Megara  and  Corinth,  also. 
But  Colonel  Leake  argues  that  Xerxes  desired  to  be 
near  enough  to  communicate  speedily  with  the  ships,  to 
distinguish  each  vessel,  observe  the  conduct  of  those  on 
board,  and  commit  the  memorials  of  that  conduct  to 
writing.      He   thinks,   therefore,   that  the  place   from 
which  Xerxes  witnessed  the  humiliating  defeat  of  his 
navy  was  an  eminence  on  the  Attic  shore  nearly  oppo* 
site  the  island  of  Psyttalea. 


m 


i 


3^4 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


THE    BATTLE    BEGINS 


36s 


The  Persian  right  towards  the  bay  of  Eleusis  and 
the  westward  was  held  by  the  ships  of  the  Phcenicians 
and  Cyprians ;  on  the  left  toward  the  Piraeus  and  the 
east  were  the  lonians,  Persians  and  Egyptians;  the 
Cilicians  and  Pamphylians  held  the  centre.  On  the  left 
of  the  Greek  h'ne  were  stationed  the  Athenians,  opposite 
the  Phoenicians  and  Cyprians  on  the  Persian  right. 
The  Lacedaemonians  and  other  Peloponnesians  occupied 
the  Greek  right,  opposite  the  lonians,  Persians  and 
Egyptians  on  the  Persian  left.  The  ^genitans  and 
Euboeans  occupied  the  centre. 

As  the  sun  began  to  mount  into  the  heavens,  Themis- 
tocles  made  an  eloquent  appeal  to  his  countrymen  as- 
suring them  that  if  they  but  remained  steadfast  they 
must  win  the  victory.     He  reminded  them  that  on  that 
day's    business    depended    their    future,    whether    they 
should  emerge  from  the  contest  free  men,  for  the  only 
alternative  was  chains  and  slavery.     History  has  not 
preserved  a  record  of  the  language  used  in  tins  appeal 
of  Themistocles.    What  the  oracles  of  Bacis  had  spoken 
was  now  to  come  to  pass  for  he  declared,  "  When  they 
shall  bridge   with   ships   the   sacred   shore  of  Artemis 
(Diana)  with  the  golden  sword,  and  sea-girt  Cy nosura, 
having  with  mad  hope  destroyed  beautiful  Athens,  then 
divine   Vengeance    shall    quench   strong    Presunrption, 
son  of  Insolence,  when  thinking  to  subvert  all  things. 
For  brass  shall  engage  mth  brass,  and  Ares  shall  red- 
den  the  sea  with  blood.     Then  the  far-thundering  son 
of  Saturn   and  benign   victory   shall   bring   a   day   of 
freedom  to  Greece." 

After  Themistocles  had  finished  his  speech,  he  or- 
dered the  men  to  go  on  board  their  ships.  The  order 
was  obeyed  with  alacrity.  At  this  juncture  the  trireme 
from  /Egina  which  had  gone  to  fetch  the  /Eacid®  ar- 
rived. The  Greeks  then  as  soon  as  Eurybiades  ad- 
vanced with  the  flag-ship  sounded  the  trumpet  and  gave 
the  command  to  go  forward,  were  suddenly  assailed  by 


the  Persians.  One  tradition  says  that  at  the  out- 
get  some  of  the  Greeks  backed  water,  when  suddenly 
the  apparition  of  a  female  figure  appeared,  and  they 
heard  her  voice  as  if  from  heaven,  declare,  "  Das- 
tards, how  long  will  you  back  water?"  Thereupon 
the  entire  line  advanced  with  enthusiasm.  This  tra- 
dition is  not  referred  to  in  the  account  given  by  Ms- 

chylus. 

Plutarch  says  that  the  Persian  admiral  from  his  flag- 
ship, which  was  a  ponderous  affair,  with  a  lofty  struc- 
ture on  its  prow,  from  which,  as  from  the  walls  of  a 
castle,    the    Persian    men-at-arms    shot    their    arrows 
among  the  enemy,  singled  out  the  trireme  of  Themis- 
tocles, seeking  to  destroy  the  ship  commanded  by  the 
most    illustrious    of   the   Grecian   leaders.      While   the 
Phoenician  ship  directed  its  darts  against  the  vessel  of 
this  illustrious  man,  an  Athenian  trireme  commanded 
by  Aminias  darted  from  the  line  and  bore  down  upon 
the  Persian,  seeking  to  strip  it  of  its  bank  of  oars  with 
its  sharp  prow.     In  this  movement  the  brazen  beaks  of 
the  contending  vessels  became  fastened  together.     Pikes 
were  used  as  grappling  irons,  and  the  crew  of  the  Per- 
sian headed  by  Ariaramcnes    (the  Ariabignes   of  He- 
rodotus), attempted  to  board  the  Greek  trireme,  but 
no  sooner  had  he  reached  the  deck  of  the  enemy  than  he 
fell   pierced   by   the   pikes   of   the   Athenians,   and  his 
bleeding  corpse  was  cast  into  the  sea.    If  we  may  credit 
Diodorus,  the  Athenian  Aminias  was  a  brother  of  Cynae- 
girus,  who  distinguished  himself  at  Marathon,  and  the 
brother  also  of  ^Eschylus,  who  also  took  part  in  the 
engagement.     The  latter  notices  this  assault  which  his 
brother  made  on  the  Phoenician  flag-ship  in  his  poem, 
"  The  Persians."     The  lines  are  rendered  by  Professor 
Blakie  as  follows: 

A  Greek  ship  led  on  the  attack, 
And  from  the  prow  of  a  Phoenician,  struck 
The  figure-head. 


366 


MILITARY  ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


What  Herodotus  says  about  the  exploit  of  Aminias 
IS  (vm,  84),  that  when  the  other  ships  backed  water, 
and  made  for  the  shore,  Aminias  of  PaUene,  an  Athe- 
nian captain,  being  carried  onwards,  darted  forth  in 
^ont  of  the  line,  and  charged  a  ship  of  the  enemy. 
The  two  vessels  became  entangled  and  could  not  sepa- 
rate, whereupon  the  rest  of  the  fleet  came  up  to  help 
Aminias,  and  engaged  with  the  Persians.  Thus,  the 
Athenians  say  the  battle  commenced;  but  the  ^Egine- 
tans  maintained  that  the  ship  which  had  been  to  ^gina 
for  the  ^acidae  was  the  first  to  begin  the  fight. 

The  Persians  were  inferior  in  seamanship,  and  unable 
to  withstand  the  repeated  attacks,  and  skilful  ma- 
noeuvres of  the  Greeks.  Their  ships  were  rammed  in 
many  instances  by  a  dexterous  movement,  whereby  the 
Greek  prows  were  so  managed  as  to  strip  from  the  side 
of  an  enemy's  ship  the  entire  bank  of  oars,  a  piece  of 
seamanship  practised  by  the  Greeks,  but  with  which  the 
barbarians  were  not  familiar.  The  conflict  raged  until 
more  than  half  the  Persian  fleet  was  destroyed  or  dis- 
abled. The  ships  of  Xerxes,  as  had  been  predicted  by 
Themistocles,  were  at  a  disadvantage  in  the  narrow 
channel  by  reason  of  their  numbers  and  the  multitude 
of  disabled  ships  obstructed  those  who  desired  to  save 
themselves  by  flight. 

Herodotus  gives  no  detailed  account  of  the  engage- 
ment. He  observes  that  the  greater  part  of  the  ships 
were  run  down  at  Salamis,  some  being  destroyed  by  the 
Athenians,  others  by  the  ^ginetae.  The  Greeks  fought 
in  good  order,  in  line,  but  the  barbarians  were  neither 
properly  formed  nor  did  anything  with  judgment.  He 
mentions  this  incident  with  respect  to  Artemisia,  queen 
of  Hellicarnassus,  that  being  pursued  by  an  Athenian 
ship,  she  bore  down  upon  a  friendly  ship  manned  by 
Calyndians,  with  the  Calyndian  King  on  board. 
Whether  she  had  any  trouble  with  this  monarch  at  the 
Hellespont,  Herodotus  says,  he  is  unable  to  say;   nor 


EXPLOIT   OF    ARTEMISIA 


367 


does  he  know  whether  she  did  it  on  purpose,  or  whether 
the  Calyndian  ship  happened  by  chance  to  be  in  her 
way.  However,  she  ran  it  down,  sunk  it,  and  gained 
a  double  advantage  thereby.  For  the  captain  of  the 
Attic  ship,  when  he  saw  her  bearing  down  on  a  ship  of 
the  enemy,  concluding  Artemisia's  ship  to  be  a  Grecian, 
or  one  that  had  deserted  from  the  enemy  and  was  assist- 
ing the  Greeks,  turned  aside  and  attacked  others. 

She  escaped,  and  what  is  even  more  incredible,  she 
won  the  favor  of  Xerxes,  who  was  watching  the  engage- 
ment. One  of  his  counsellors  said  to  the  King,  "  Do 
you  see  Artemisia,  how  well  she  fights,  and  she  has 
sunk  one  of  the  enemy's  ships."  Xerxes  said,  "  Are 
you  sure  the  exploit  was  that  of  Artemisia?  "  The  an- 
swer was  that  they  knew  the  ensign  of  her  ship  per- 
fectly well,  but  supposed  she  had  sunk  a  ship  of  the 
enemy,  and  no  one  on  board  survived  to  disabuse  the 
mind  of  Xerxes  on  that  point.  The  King  was  much 
pleased  with  the  woman's  courage  and  it  is  said  he  ex- 
claimed, "  My  men  have  become  women  and  my  women 
men." 

On  account  of  the  confusion  and  panic  among  the 
barbarians,  occasioned  by  the  severity  of  the  struggle, 
and  the  great  mortality  among  them,  the  entire  Persian 
fleet  and  Xerxes  himself  became  demoralized  and  panic- 
stricken  and  the  ships  withdrew  as  best  they  could  into 
the  open  sea. 

Since  the  dawn,  the  Son  of  Darius,  from  the  rocky 
eminence  he  occupied,  had  been  watching  the  attempt 
of  his  captains  to  execute  his  orders  to  destroy  the 
Greeks  and  sink  their  ships.  But  he  was  compelled  to 
witness  the  destruction  of  more  than  half  his  fleet. 
The  damage  done  to  the  enemy,  however,  was  compara- 
tively slight.  Xerxes,  however,  instead  of  giving  orders 
to  renew  the  contest  on  the  following  day,  really  be- 
came solicitous,  and  alarmed  for  his  personal  safety. 
It  is  true  he  had  taken  Athens  and  reduced  it  to  ashes. 


368 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


He  had  on  the  Attic  peninsula  a  formidable  army,  num- 
bering more  than  two  millions  of  fighting  men,  many  of 
whom,  doubtless  were  near  enough  the  coast  to  witness 
the  engagement  off  Salamis,  yet  Xerxes  was  afraid. 
The  grandson  of  the  Great  Cyrus  seemed  to  be  alto- 
gether lacking  in  the  qualities  that  made  his  distin- 
guished ancestor  the  greatest  conqueror  up  to  that 
time,  that  the  world  had  seen.  He  became  seized  with 
the  idea  that  the  victorious  Greeks  would  dispatch  a 
squadron  to  the  Hellespont,  destroy  the  bridge  of 
boats  he  had  constructed  to  bring  his  army  into  Eu- 
rope, cut  off  his  retreat  and  harass  his  retreating 
army  in  the  wilds  of  Thrace. 

He  sought  the  advice  of  his  brother-in-law,  Mar- 
donius,  who  had  begged  Xerxes  to  undertake  the  expe- 
dition. Fearing  the  wrath  of  his  sovereign,  and  not 
wishing  to  incur  his  displeasure  by  advising  contrary 
to  what  he  knew  Xerxes  wished  to  do,  he  concurred  in 
the  view  that  it  would  be  wise  to  retreat  and  return 
with  the  entire  armament  to  Asia.  It  is  clear,  however, 
if  we  may  judge  from  his  subsequent  conduct  at  Plataea, 
that  Mardonius,  had  he  been  free  to  act  according  to 
his  own  will,  would  never  have  retreated.  He  would,  in 
all  probability,  have  renewed  the  contest  at  the  Isthmus, 
and  united  the  land  and  naval  forces,  in  an  attempt 
to  invade  the  Peloponnesus.  Had  Mardonius  been 
Xerxes,  and  Xerxes  Mardonius,  a  different  page  would 
doubtless  have  been  written  concerning  the  destinies  of 
Hellas. 

Xerxes  unquestionably  was  weary  and  disgusted. 
He  longed  for  the  luxurious  ease  and  comfort  of  his 
royal  parks,  gardens  and  palaces  at  Susa  and  Ecba- 
tana.  Orders  were  given  for  the  fleet  to  proceed  with 
all  despatch  to  the  Hellespont  and  very  soon  after  the 
battle  of  Salamis,  the  army  took  up  its  march  north 
through  Attica,  Boeotia,  Locris,  through  the  bloody 
pass  at  Thermopylae,  where  Leonidas  and  his  followers 


BIETH    OF   EUEIPIDES 


369 


slept  in  honored  graves,  to  Thessaly  and  thence  north 
to  Macedonia  and  into  Thrace,  thence  eastward  into 

Asia. 

But  all  the  while  Mardonius  was  anxious  for  permis- 
sion to  stay  in  Hellas  and  accomplish  the  purpose  for 
which  the  expedition  had  been  undertaken.  When  the 
army  reached  Thessaly  Xerxes  consented  that  he  might 
remain  there  during  the  winter  with  a  detachment  of 
300,000  men,  and  in  the  spring  renew  the  contest  for 
the  conquest  of  Hellas. 

With  the  remainder  of  his  forces  Xerxes  finally 
reached  the  Hellespont.  The  bridge  of  boats  during 
his  absence  had  been  destroyed  by  the  severe  storms, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  transport  his  troops  into  Asia 
by  means  of  his  fleet. 

The  net  results  of  this  memorable  campaign  B.  C. 
480,  which  covered  a  period  of  a  few  weeks,  was  the 
destruction  of  a  garrison  of  eleven  hundred  men  under 
Leonidas  at  Thermopylae;  an  indecisive  sea  fight  off 
Artemisium,  on  the  northern  coast  of  the  island  of 
Eubcea ;  the  burning  of  Athens ;  an  unsuccessful  at- 
tempt to  sack  the  temple  of  Delphi ;  and  the  decisive 
naval  engagement  in  the  Saronic  Gulf  off  the  island  of 

Salamis. 

One  incident  in  connection  with  the  battle  of  Salamis 
must  be  noted.  On  the  island,  almost  within  bow-shot 
of  the  contending  fleets,  amid  the  clash  of  resounding 
arms,  a  mother,  driven  from  Athens  by  the  invading 
Persians,  gave  birth  to  a  son,  whose  name  was  destined 
to  live  forever  in  the  world  of  letters.  They  called  him 
Euripides.  While  .Eschylus,  a  great  poet,  was  that 
day  doing  battle,  to  preserve  and  redeem  Athens,  a 
poet,  destined  to  become  equally  famous,  first  saw  the 

light. 

A  detailed  account  of  the  battle  of  Salamis  is  given 
by  iEschylus  in  his  musical  drama  entitled  "  The  Per- 
sians," a  quotation  from  which  is  given  above.    He  was 


370 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GEEECE 


a  native  of  Eleusis  in  Attica,  born  B.  C.  525,  and  hence 
was  contemporaneous  with  Pindar  and  Simonides.  He 
fought  at  Marathon,  Artemisium,  Salamis  and  Plat«a. 
lie  IS  one  of  the  great  poets  of  antiquity.  "  The  Per- 
sians     IS  the  first  page  of  Greek  history  ever  written. 

the  battle,  when  Herodotus  was  but  twelve  years  of  age. 
The  latter  began  to  write  his  famous  history  when  he 

wlVr^^^.""^"-  ."!  ''^^  ^''  ^^^^^  ^*  Public  assem- 
bl  es,  the  first  recorded  recitation  of  Herodotus  having 

taken  place  at  the  festival  of  the  Panathen^a,  at 
Athens  B.  C.  446. 

-^schylus  laid  the  scene  of  his  drama  in  Asia.     On 
the  stage  was  represented  a  room  in  the  royal  palace 
of  Xerxes  at  Susa.     When  the  curtain  rises  a  chorus 
of  Persian  elders  is  discovered.     They  sing  of  the  ab- 
sent Xerxes,  and  express  hopes  for  his  safe  return  to 
his  capital,  and  magnify  and  extol  his  powerful  arma- 
ment.    Operatic  dialogue  is  then  introduced,  expressing 
confidence   m   the   result  of  the  campaign.      Suddenly 
the  smgers  begin  to  express  forebodings  as  to  the  inter- 
vention of  Heaven,  and  the  mysteries  of  fate.    Presently 
Atossa  IS  seen  approaching  in  a  royal  chariot,  attended 
by  a  numerous  train.     The  singers  all  prostrate  them- 
selves before  her. 

Atossa  then  discloses  her  forebodings  as  to  the  safety 
of  her  son  and  members  of  the  royal  household.  In  one 
place  she  sings  of  the  visions  that  came  to  her  on  her 

•  L  ur  ,  °^  *  '^'■^^"'  ^^^  ^^^  ^"^  relates  that  the 
night  before  she  saw  two  women,  one  in  Persian  robes, 
the  other  m  Dorian  garb : 

Between  these  twain,  for  so  methouffht  I  saw. 
Some  feud  arose,  which  learning,  straight  my  son 
Strove  to  appease  and  soothe;  he  to  his  car 

P^^^l.    fl"*  """^  P**"?^^  *^^  ^^^U^**  ^^  their  necks. 
Proudly  the  one  exulted  in  this  gear, 

And  kept  her  mouth  submissive  to  the  reins; 


COURIEtt     ARRIVES     FROM     SALAMIS  37 1 

Restive  the  other  was ;  she  with  her  hands 
The  chariot-harness  rends,  then  without  bit. 
Whirls  it  along,  snapping  the  yoke  asunder. 
Prone  falls  my  son,  and  close  at  hand,  his  sire, 
Darius,  pitying  stands,  whom,  when  he  sees. 
The  robes  about  his  person  Xerxes  rends. 
Such  was,  I  say,  the  vision  of  the  night. 

She  then  relates  what  strange  portents  she  saw  when 
she  awoke.  The  chorus  then  sings  and  seeks  to  put  a 
good  construction  and  interpretation  on  the  visions  the 
queen  had  seen,  and  a  dialogue  ensues  extolling  the 
traditions  of  Persian  arms,  when  suddenly  a  courier 
out  of  breath  rushes  on  the  stage  and  the  chorus  sings : 

But  soon,  if  I  mistake  not,  thou  the  whole  truth  shalt  learn 
For  here  a  courier  speedeth  whose  gait  proclaimeth  him 
Persian,  and  he  will  bring  us  clear  news  of  weal  or  woe. 

^schylus  now  introduces  an  account  of  the  Persian 
defeat  at  Salamis,  which  this  courier  relates  to  Atossa. 
He  was  dispatched  to  Susa  immediately  after  the  bat- 
tle. He  thus  begins  his  doleful  narrative  before  the 
miserable  queen. 

O  fenced  homes  of  all  the  Asian  earth 

O  Soil  of  Persia,  haven  of  vast  wealth. 

How,  by  one  stroke,  our  full  prosperity 

Hath  shattered  been,  and  blighted  Persia's  flower. 

Woeful  his  office  first  who  heralds  woe ! 

Yet  all  our  sorrow  must  I  needs  unfold  — 

Persians,  the  whole  barbaric  host  is  lost. 

The  messenger  then  relates  the  terrible  and  bloody 
spectacle  he  witnessed  in  the  straits  of  Salamis.  He 
describes  it  thus: 

Darkness  advanced,  yet  not  in  secret  flight 
Ionia's  host  was  minded  to  escape; 
But  when  white-steeded  Day,  bright  to  behold. 
Held  the  wide  earth,  from  the  Hellenes  first. 
Like  joyous  chant,  rang  out  their  battle-cry, 
And  forthwith  Echo,  from  the  island  rocks. 
Sent  back  responsive  an  inspiring  shout. 


372  MIUTAEY   AKNALS    OF    GREECE 

On  all  the  Persians,  cheated  in  their  hopes, 

Fell  terror;   for  by  no  means  as  in  flight 

Their  solemn  paean  did  th'  Hellenes  sing. 

But  with  stout  courage  speeding  to  the  fray. 

The  trumpet's  blare  fired  all  their  ranks,  and  straight. 

With  simultaneous  dip  of  sounding  oar. 

They  at  the  signal  smote  the  surging  brine. 

And  instant  all  conspicuous  were  to  sight. 

First  the  right  wing,  well  marshall'd,  took  the  lead; 

Then  their  whole  naval  force  in  fair  array 

Bore  down  against  us.    All  at  once  was  heard 

A  mighty  shout:  "Sons  of  Hellenes,  on, 

Your  country  free,  your  children  free,  your  tcivet. 

The  temples  of  your  fathers*  deities. 

Your  tombs  ancestral;  for  your  all  ye  fight." 

And  from  our  side  clamour  of  Persian  speech 

In  answer  rose;   no  time  was  then  for  pause, 

But  instant  galley  against  galley  dashed 

Her  armature  of  brass.     A  ship  of  Hellas 

Led  the  encounter,  and  from  Punic  barque 

Sheared  her  high  crest.     Thereon  as  fortune  led. 

Ship  drave  on  ship;   at  first  the  Persian  host, 

A  mighty  flood,  made  head ;   but  soon  their  ships 

Thronged  in  the  strait,  of  mutual  aid  bereft. 

Each  against  other  dashed  with  brazen  beak. 

Crushing  the  oar-banks  of  their  proper  fleet; 

While  the  Hellenes  ships,  not  without  skill. 

Circling  around  them  smote;    dead  hulks  of  ships 

Floated  keel-upwards,  and,  with  wrecks  o'erstrewn 

And  slaughtered  men,  lost  was  the  sea  from  sight, 

Ay,  shores  and  reefs  were  crowded  with  the  dead. 

In  flight  disordered  every  ship  was  rowed, 

Poor  remnant  of  the  Persian  armament. 

Then  as  men  strike  at  tunnies,  or  a  haul 

Of  captured  fishes,  the  Hellenes,  armed 

With  splint  of  oar,  or  fragment  from  the  wreck, 

Batter'd,  and  clave  with  dislocated  blows. 

Shrieks  and  loud  wailing  filled  the  ocean  brine. 

Till  all  'neath  eye  of  swarthy  night  was  lost. 

But  all  our  losses,  though  for  ten  whole  days 

I  told  them  over,  could  I  not  recount. 

Of  this  be  sure,  that  never  in  one  day 

Perished  of  men  so  vast  a  multitude. 


There  have  been  a  number  of  very  excellent  transla- 
tions of  JEschjlus.  The  rendering  given  above  is  the 
work  of  a  woman,  Anna  Swanwick,  Litt.  D.,  an  eminent 
Greek  scholar,  who  by  reason  of  her  accomplishments, 


COMMENT     BY     PEOF.     SYMONDS 


373 


is  certainly  entitled  to  the  admiration  of  all.  Her 
work  is  equal  at  least  to  that  of  any  of  the  eminent 
scholars  who  have  enriched  literature  with  their  labors 
in  rendering  into  English  verse  the  musical  drama  of 
-/Eschylus. 

Professor  Symonds,  commenting  on  "  The  Persians," 
the  first  work  of  its  kind  of  which  we  have  any  knowl- 
edge, says :  ^'  The  real  point  of  that  fearful  duel  of  two 
nations,  which  decided  the  future  of  the  human  race, 
the  contrast  between  barbarians  and  men  in  whom  the 
spirit  was  alive ;  between  slaves  driven  to  the  fight,  hke 
sheep,  and  freemen  acting  consciously,  as  their  own 
will  determined ;  between  the  brute  force  of  multitudes 
and  the  inspiring  courage  of  a  few  heroes,  has  never 
been  expressed  more  radiantly  than  in  this  play." 


CHAPTER    XXIV 


HIMERA.  — DEFEAT    OF    HAMILCAR    IN    SICILY.    BY 
THERON  AND   GELON   OF   SYRACUSE,   B.C.  480 

HIMERA  — Hi-me-ra—|'lA4epo].  A  Greek  city  on  the  north 
coast  of  Sicily  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Himera,  about  twenty- 
five  miles  east  of  Panormus  (now  Palermo),  eleven  miles  west  of 
Cephaloedium,  and  about  ninety-five  miles  northwest  of  Syracuse. 
Agrigentum,  a  city  ruled  by  Theron,  was  on  the  river  Acragas  on 
the  southern  coast  of  Sicily  directly  south  of  Himera. 

HERE  are  two  theories  with  regard  to  the 
presence  of  the  Carthaginian  forces  in 
Sicily,  during  the  second  Persian  War.  Ac- 
cording to  Diodorus,  when  Xerxes  was  ma- 
turing his  plans  for  the  invasion  of  Greece, 
he  sent  ambassadors  to  Carthage,  and  entered  into 
negotiations  with  Hamilcar,  the  Carthaginian  King, 
whereby  that  sovereign  agreed  to  send  an  expedition 
to  invade  Sicily,  and  engage  the  Greek  colonies  and 
cities  on  that  island,  to  the  end  that  they  might  thereby 
be  prevented  from  lending  aid  to  their  countrymen  in 
Hellas.  At  the  instigation  of  the  Persian  monarch, 
Hamilcar  planned  to  invade  Sicily  at  the  time  when 
Xerxes  was  to  invade  Greece. 

Herodotus,  however,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  aware 
of  any  such  negotiations  between  the  Persians  and  the 
Carthaginians,  and  he  assigns  an  entirely  different  rea- 
son for  the  Punic  invasion  of  Sicily.  He  declares 
(vii,  165)  that  Gelon  would  have  led  an  army  into 
Greece  to  aid  his  kinsmen  against  the  hosts  of  Persia, 
even  although  he  was  denied  supreme  command  as  set 
forth   in   a   previous   chapter,   and  would   have   been 

374 


ARMAMENT    OF    HAMILCAE 


375 


obliged  to  serve  under  the  Lacedaemonians  had  it  not 
been  that  Terillus,  a  deposed  King  of  Himera,  was  in- 
strumental in  bringing  into  Sicily  at  this  particular 
time  a  Carthaginian  army  of  300,000  men.  The  reason 
given  for  this  act  on  the  part  of  Terillus  was  because 
Theron,  King  of  Agrigentum  on  the  southern  shore  of 
Sicily,  drove  King  Terillus  out  of  Himera,  and  took 
his  city.  Whereupon  the  fugitive  monarch,  with  the 
aid  of  his  son-in-law  Anaxilaus,  tyrant  of  Rhegium, 
who  had  great  influence  at  Carthage,  applied  for 
redress  to  Hamilcar,  and  besought  him  to  right  the 
wrong  lie  had  suff^cred  at  the  hands  of  Theron,  and 
reinstate  him  as  tyrant  of  Himera.  Anaxilaus  gave  to 
the  Carthaginian  his  children,  the  grandchildren  of 
Terillus,  as  hostages  to  induce  him  to  enter  Sicily  to 
avenge  the  wrong  done  to  his  father-in-law.  Hamilcar 
yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  the  Sicilians,  and  espoused 
their  cause.  He  assembled  a  powerful  army  consist- 
ing of  three  hundred  thousand  men,  and  a  fleet  of  two 
thousand  sail,  supplemented  by  three  thousand  trans- 
ports to  be  used  for  carrying  the  horses,  chariots,  pro- 
visions and  supplies. 

Whatever  may  be  said  as  to  how  the  Carthaginian 
invasion  of  Sicily  was  brought  about,  it  seems  certain 
that  the  presence  of  the  Punic  invaders  prevented  the 
Greeks  in  Syracuse  from  lending  aid  to  their  country- 
men at  the  time  Xerxes  was  advancing  through  Thes- 
saly.  Herodotus  says  that  the  defeat  of  Hamilcar  at 
Himera  occurred  on  the  very  day  that  the  Greeks  de- 
feated the  Persians  at  Salamis,  while  Diodorus  says  it 
occurred  on  the  day  of  the  defeat  of  Leonidas  of  Ther- 
mopylae. 

Hamilcar  made  great  preparations  for  the  war  in 
Sicily.  His  army  included  not  only  Phoenicians,  but  a 
large  number  of  mercenaries,  including  Libyans,  Ibe- 
rians, Ligurians,  Elisycians,  Sardinians  and  Corsicans. 
In  addition   to  these  land  forces,  aggregating  three 


376 


MILITAEY   ANNALS   OF   GREECE 


hundred  thousand  men,  his  fleet  of  two  thousand  ships, 
was  assembled  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  bay  of 
Tunis.  It  was  accompanied  also  by  three  thousand 
transports  which  were  convoyed  with  the  expedition. 
Hamilcar  in  person  took  supreme  command  of  this 
formidable  armament.  Being  of  royal  Hneage,  he  was 
doubtless  the  ancestor  of  Hamilcar  Barca,  and  of  his 
son  Hannibal  the  Great,  who  fought  the  last  Punic  war, 
and  is  known  to  posterity  as  one  of  the  greatest  mas- 
ters of  strategy  in  military  annals. 

Shortly  after  this  expedition  put  to  sea,  perhaps 
midway  between  the  shores  of  Africa,  and  the  western 
coast  of  Sicily  in  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean, 
known  at  that  period  as  the  Libyan  sea,  a  violent  tem- 
pest arose.  Hamilcar  lost  in  this  storm  the  transports 
containing  the  horses  and  chariots,  and  many  of  his 
ships  also  were  damaged.  Hamilcar  put  into  the  bay 
of  Panormus  under  the  shelter  of  the  lofty  peak  now 
known  as  Mount  Pelegrino,  which  shelters  the  bay  of 
Palermo.  Here  he  landed  his  troops,  and  spent  sev- 
eral days  repairing  his  ships  which  had  survived  the 
storm. 

Having  rested  his  men  after  the  severe  voyage,  he 
marshalled  them  in  order,  and  began  his  march  east- 
ward along  the  rocky  and  mountainous  shores  of  Sicily 
to  Himera,  distant  about  twenty-five  miles  from  Panor- 
mus. His  fleet  sailed  in  line  with  the  infantry  along 
the  coast,  carrying  the  supplies  and  provisions.  When 
the  objective  point  of  the  expedition  was  reached, 
Hamilcar  encamped  his  army  about  the  city  and  pre- 
pared to  besiege  it.  He  extended  his  fortifications  from 
the  lines  of  the  naval  forces,  with  which  he  barricaded 
the  shore,  having  dug  trenches  about  the  ships,  which 
were  drawn  on  the  beach,  the  line  of  his  fortifications 
having  been  carried  to  the  hills  which  overtopped  the 
city.  The  troops  of  Theron,  which  had  sallied  forth 
to  oppose  the  Carthaginians,  were  attacked  with  vigor, 


GELON    AT    HIMEEA 


377 


and  driven  within  the  lines  of  their  fortifications.  The 
bold  and  skilful  manoeuvres  of  the  enemy  struck  terror 
into  the  hearts  of  the  besieged,  and  Theron,  though  his 
forces  were  ample,  became  alarmed  for  his  safety,  and 
dispatched  couriers  with  all  haste  to  Syracuse,  some 
ninety-five  miles  distant,  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
island  imploring  Gelon,  its  Governor,  to  send  him 
succor,  with  all  possible  expedition.  Gelon,  intending 
to  give  aid  to  his  kinsmen  in  Greece,  had  already  as- 
sembled an  army  consisting  of  fifty  thousand  infantry 
and  five  thousand  cavalry,  which  he  commanded  in  per- 
son. As  soon  as  he  learned  of  the  condition  of  affairs 
at  Himera,  and  of  the  presence  of  an  invading  army 
from  Carthage,  he  set  out  with  his  entire  command  to 
the  relief  of  Himera,  proceeding  by  forced  marches. 
When  Gelon  arrived  near  the  city,  he  deployed  his 
troops  to  the  best  advantage  and  fortified  himself  both 
with  a  wall  and  a  deep  trench. 

Hamilcar  meantime  was  doing  all  the  mischief  he 
could  to  the  Sicilians  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  camp. 
He  was  accustomed  to  send  out  large  bodies  of  for- 
agers. These  usually  divided  themselves  into  maraud- 
ing parties,  and  scoured  the  country  far  and  near  in 
search  of  provisions  and  supplies  of  all  kinds.  The 
first  move  on  the  part  of  Gelon  was  to  operate  with  his 
cavalry  to  break  up  and  capture  these  bands  of  ma- 
rauders. He  was  successful  in  his  raids,  the  enemy 
being  deficient  in  cavalry,  and  in  a  short  time  took  more 
than  ten  thousand  prisoners.  His  success  greatly  re- 
vived the  spirits  of  the  besieged,  and  shed  lustre  on  the 
arms  of  Gelon. 

The  latter  now  began  to  plan  how  he  might  compass 
the  defeat  of  the  enemy  by  some  clever  strategy.  He 
sought  to  devise  some  way  by  which  to  mislead  and  de- 
ceive the  Carthaginians,  and  destroy  their  forces  with- 
out danger  to  himself  or  to  his  army.  His  great  de- 
sire was  to  bum  the  enemy's  fleet  in  order  to  deprive 


378 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


them  of  their  only  means  of  escape,  in  case  of  defeat, 
and  if  possible,  kill  Hamilcar,  believing  that  the  death 
of  their  leader  might  ser\e  to  demoralize  and  discour- 
age his  followers,  who  were  mostly  mercenaries  and 
hirelings,  and  render  them  helpless  in  a  strange  land, 
harassed  and  annoyed  on  all  sides  by  active  and  vigi- 
lant enemies  who  were  not  fighting  for  conquest,  but 
seeking  to  preserve  their  country  from  the  hand  of  the 
spoiler,  and  the  dominion  of  the  invader. 

After  Gelon  had  broken  up  the  bands  of  marauders 
and  foragers  by  the  dexterous  use  of  his  cavalry,  Ham- 
ilcar sought  to  invoke  divine  assistance.  He  began 
preparations  to  celebrate  a  grand  festival  in  honor  of 
Poseidon  (Neptune)  and  to  offer  sacrifices  in  his  camp, 
in  which  both  the  army  and  navy  should  join.  In  the 
meantime,  being  greatly  in  need  of  cavalry,  his  own 
horses  and  chariots  having  been  lost  at  sea,  Hamilcar 
sent  a  courier  to  Sehnus  directly  across  the  island  on 
the  south  shore,  some  sixty  miles  distant,  requesting 
the  Selinians,  who  were  supposed  to  favor  the  cause 
of  Terillus,  the  exiled  despot  of  Himera,  to  send  to  his 
aid  a  strong  body  of  horse.  The  courier  was  re- 
quested, in  case  the  horsemen  were  sent,  to  have  them 
enter  his  camp  on  a  certain  day  designated  by  Hamil- 
car. 

Gelon  was  interrupted  in  his  tent  one  day  about  this 
time  by  the  announcement  that  one  of  the  enemy's 
scouts  had  been  captured.  The  prisoner  was  brought 
before  the  commander-in-chief,  and  searched.  On  his 
person  was  found  a  letter  written  by  the  tyrant  of 
Silinus,  to  Hamilcar,  stating  that  the  aid  he  required 
would  be  furnished,  and  that  a  body  of  cavalry  was 
about  to  be  dispatched  which  would  arrive  at  the  camp 
of  the  Carthaginian  on  the  day  appointed  by  Hamilcar. 
This  incident  gave  Gelon  the  opportunity  he  sought, 
and  enabled  him  to  devise  a  plan  to  entrap  the  Car- 
thaginians.   He  sent  a  body  of  his  own  cavalry  to  per- 


STRATEGY    OF    GELON 


379 


sonate  the  horsemen  which  Hamilcar  was  expecting, 
disguised  as  if  they  were  Selinian  troops.  They  were 
instructed  to  proceed  secretly  by  night  to  places  near- 
est and  most  convenient  to  enable  them  to  enter  the 
camp  of  the  enemy  at  dawn,  on  the  day  appointed  for 
the  arrival  of  the  Selinians.  They  were  ordered  to 
enter  the  Carthaginian  camp  representing  to  the  enemy 
that  they  had  been  sent  from  Selinus  to  aid  Hamilcar, 
and  carry  out  the  deception  by  producing  the  letter 
the  Selinian  tyrant  had  Avritten  to  the  Carthaginian 
general.  As  soon  as  they  were  admitted  into  the  camp 
they  were  ordered  to  kill  Hamilcar,  make  a  sudden  at- 
tack on  the  Carthaginians,  and  set  fire  to  their  ships. 
Gelon  also  posted  his  spies  on  the  adjacent  hills  and 
ordered  them,  as  soon  as  the  horsemen  were  admitted 
into  the  fortifications,  to  give  notice  by  raising  aloft 
some  conspicuous  object,  as  a  sign  to  apprise  their 
commander  when  the  assault  should  be  made  by  his 
troops.  Gelon  drew  up  his  army-in-waiting,  to  co- 
operate with  the  cavalry  while  they  were  attacking  the 
enemy  within  the  fortifications. 

The  plan  was  successfully  executed.  Gelon's  horse- 
men were  admitted  to  the  enemy's  camp  at  sunrise,  when 
the  Carthaginians  were  engaged  in  offering  sacrifices 
and  suddenly  threw  themselves  upon  the  unsuspecting 
enemy,  slew  Hamilcar,  who  was  engaged  in  sacrificing, 
and  seeking  favorable  victims.  They  then  set  fire  to 
his  ships.  The  signal  was  instantly  given  by  the  spies 
from  the  hill  tops,  and  Gelon  rushed  into  the  enemy's 
camp,  the  entrances  having  been  thrown  open  by  his 
own  troops  within.  The  enemy  perceiving  the  treach- 
ery and  the  ruse  which  had  been  employed,  determined 
to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible. 

The  trumpet  sounded  and  the  barbarians  succeeded 
in  drawing  their  forces  out  of  their  confused  camp  in 
good  order  and  made  a  terrible  onslaught  on  the  forces 
of  Gelon.     The  struggle  was  fierce  and  bloody.     The 


38o 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OP    GEEECE 


carnage  was  appalling.  Suddenly  when  dense  clouds 
of  black  smoke  from  their  burning  ships  began  to  settle 
over  the  field  of  slaughter,  news  of  the  death  of  Hamil- 
car  reached  the  troops  and  spread  among  them  like 
wildfire.  Despair  now  seized  the  barbarians  and  they 
fled  precipitately  from  the  field.  Gelon  ordered  that 
no  prisoners  should  be  taken,  reminding  his  men  that 
the  enemy  were  invaders  from  foreign  shores.  Diodo- 
rus  says  that  half  of  the  army  of  Hamilcar,  namely, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  were  killed  at 
Himera.  The  remnant  who  fled  succeeded  in  getting 
away,  and  reached  a  spot  on  that  rough  and  moun- 
tainous coast  which  was  fortified  by  nature.  This  af- 
forded a  brief  respite  from  the  fury  of  the  enemy. 
The  country  where  they  were  was  dry  and  barren,  and 
because  they  could  get  no  water  and  while  dying  of 
thirst  they  surrendered  themselves. 

Diodorus,  who  was  a  Sicilian,  indulges  in  unstinted 
praise  of  Gelon,  also  a  Sicilian,  and  declares  that  his 
fame  now  surpassed  that  of  any  commander  of  his  age, 
because  he  says  no  general  before  ever  planned  such 
a  clever  strategy,  or  slew  so  many  barbarians  or  took 
so  many  prisoners  in  one  battle.  The  Sicilian  historian 
refers  to  the  cunning  device  practised  by  Themistocles, 
who  deceived  Xerxes  through  his  messenger  Sicinnus 
and  induced  him  to  enter  the  straits  of  Salamis  with  his 
ships,  where  they  were  crushed  by  the  Greeks  on  the 
following  day.  But  Diodorus,  while  giving  great 
praise  to  Themistocles,  places  the  feat  of  Gelon  first, 
urging  in  his  favor  the  fact  that  he  never  betrayed  his 
country  and  fled  like  Themistocles  did,  but  enjoyed  a 
long  and  prosperous  reign  in  Syracuse,  as  did  his  suc- 
cessors for  three  generations.  He  argues  also  that 
the  feat  of  Gelon  at  Himera  was  not  inferior  to  that 
achieved  at  Plataea,  and  reminds  us  that  Pausanias, 
the  victor  of  Plataea,  afterwards  became  a  traitor 
to  his  country,  and  like  Themistocles,  died  in  disgrace. 


1 1 


ACCOUNT   OF    HEEODOTUS 


381 


Herodotus  gives  a  slightly  different  version  of  the 
death  of  Hamilcar  than  that  given  by  Diodorus.  He 
says,  according  to  the  account  given  by  the  Cartha- 
ginians themselves,  that  the  battle  at  Himera  lasted  all 
day  from  morning  till  late  in  the  evening.  That  during 
that  time  Hamilcar  continued  in  the  camp  offering 
sacrifices,  and  observing  the  omens,  and  burning  whole 
victims  on  a  huge  pyre.  That  when  he  saw  the  defeat 
of  his  army,  as  he  was  pouring  libations  on  the  victims, 
he  threw  himself  into  the  flames  and  was  consumed.^ 
Thus  perished  Hamilcar  in  the  flames  at  Himera,  as  the 
Phoenicians  relate. 

» Herod,  vii,  167. 


CHAPTER    XXV 


THEMISTOCLES 


'  T  may  be  said  of  Themistocles  that  his  talents, 
his  energy,  his  mastery  of  the  art  of  strat- 
egy,  his   resourcefulness,   and   his   sagacity, 
made  him  indispensable  to  his  countrymen  in 
time  of  war;    his  greed,  his  avarice  and  his 
utter  disregard  of  all  limitations  imposed  by  law,  made 
him  intolerable   in   time   of  peace.      The  perseverance 
and  untiring  energy  which  characterized  his  efforts  to 
arouse  the  patriotism  of  his  countrymen,  and  to  per- 
suade them  to  take  arms  and  defend  their  homes  against 
foreign  invasion,  in  the  unequal  struggle  with  the  hosts 
of  Xerxes,  merits  unqualified  praise  and  admiration. 
The  decisive  victory  of  Miltiades,  at  Marathon,  was 
regarded  by  Themistocles  as  only  the  beginning  of  a 
long  struggle  with  Persia.    The  indefatigable  energy  of 
the  latter;   the  patriotism  he  inspired  and  his  wonder- 
ful strategy  in  bringing  on  the  navel  engagement  in  the 
straits  of  Salamis,  against  the  express  wishes  of  Eury- 
biades,  the  Spartan   commander  of  the  fleet,  resulted 
in  a  decisive  victory,  which  saved  his  country  a  second 
time  from  chains  and  slavery.    The  triumph  of  Themis- 
tocles in  that  engagement  was  equally  as  important, 
as  the  signal  success  achieved  by  Miltiades  at  Mara- 
thon.    If  the  armies  of  Datis  had  triumphed  at  Mara- 
thon, or  had  Xerxes  been  successful  at  Salamis,  Greece 
would  have  sunk  into  insignificance,  as  an  integral  part 
of   the   Persian    empire.      In    the    second    invasion    of 
Hellas,  conducted  by  Xerxes,  in  person,  Themistocles 
was  to  Greece  what  Washington  was  to  the  American 

382 


AS   ADMIRAL 


383 


colonists  in  their  struggle  for  independence  against  the 
fleets  and  armies  sent  across  the  Atlantic  by  the  British 
sovereign.  To  Washington  more  than  to  any  other 
one  man,  the  English  colonists  in  America  were  indebted 
for  their  success.  To  Themistocles  more  than  to  any 
other  one  man,  Greece  owed  her  independence  during 
the  second  Persian  War.  He  was  the  most  conspicuous 
man  of  his  age,  and  one  of  the  greatest  strategists  of 
antiquity.  In  that  regard  he  may  be  classed  with  Han- 
nibal, the  most  consummate  master  of  strategy  perhaps 
that  ever  lived. 

Themistocles  was  indeed  a  military  genius,  if  we 
may  be  permitted  to  apply  that  term  to  a  commander 
early  in  the  fifth  century  B.  C,  a  period  when  the  game 
of  war  had  not  been  reduced  to  a  science.  Recondite 
tactics  were  practically  unknown  prior  to  the  time  of 
Epaminondas,  the  Spartan  general,  who  was  killed  at 
Mantinea  early  in  the  fourth  century  (B.  C.  362). 
Like  the  military  men  of  his  age,  Themistocles  was  not 
only  a  successful  general,  but  excelled  as  an  admiral. 
He  was  perhaps  more  skilful  in  command  of  a  fleet  than 
in  command  of  an  army.  His  achievements  on  the  sea 
were  approached  only  by  the  great  Cimon,  son  of  Mil- 
tiades, the  victor  of  Marathon.  Themistocles  was  the 
John  Paul  Jones  of  his  age,  and  was  properly  regarded 
as  the  father  of  the  Athenian  navy.  The  fleet  with 
which  he  afterwards  saved  his  country  at  Salamis  was 
built  from  the  income  derived  from  the  silver  mines  at 
Laurium,  which  Themistocles  induced  the  assembly  to 
use  for  that  purpose,  rather  than  distribute  it  among 
the  Attic  tribes.  He  constantly  reminded  his  country- 
men that  they  must  make  the  sea  their  domain,  if  they 
would  build  up  and  maintain  their  supremacy.  "  He 
took  from  his  countrymen,"  says  Plato,  "  the  spear  and 
the  shield,  and  bound  them  to  the  bench  and  the  oar." 
In  this  regard  his  judgment  was  sustained  by  Pericles, 
under  whose  guidance  the  Athenian  empire  flourished 


;j| 


:i:i 


384 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OP    GttEECE 


and  expanded,  and  attained  the  height  of  its  power  and 
influence. 

Themistocles  was  of  the  tribe  of  Leontis.     We  are 
not  informed  as  to  the  year  of  his  birth,  nor  the  date 
of  his  death.     The  authorities  seem  to  indicate,  how- 
ever, that  he  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.     His  death 
occurred  in  Magnesia,  a  city  in  Ionia,  situated  a  short 
distance  north  of  the  river  Masander.     If  we  may  as- 
sume that  he  died  B.  C.  464  he  was  born  in  the  year 
B.  C.  629.     If  this  date  is  correct  he  was  thirty-nine 
years  of  age  when  he  fought  at  Marathon.     In  that 
engagement  he  marched  with  his  tribe  side  by  side  with 
the  tribe  of  Antiochis,  led  by  Aristides,  his  great  con- 
temporary.    Plutarch  says  that  the  enemy  fought  for 
a   long   time    "making  opposition   there   against   the 
tribes    of  Leontis   and   Antiochis.      Themistocles    and 
Aristides    being   ranged    together    fought   valiantly." 
The  former,  if  he  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  strategi, 
at  the  critical  moment,  voted  with  Aristides  to  give 
battle,  and  attack  the  Persians  on  the  plain  of  Mara- 
thon, a  place  sacred  to  Hercules.     Notwithstanding  his 
valuable  services  and  his  decisive  victory  at   Salamis, 
Themistocles  became  involved  in  political  intrigues  and 
among  other  delinquencies  was  accused  of  bribery,  a 
crime  not  considered  especially  heinous  in  Hellas  in  that 
age.     Finally  his  enemies  became  so  aggressive  that  ten 
years  after  he  had  been  elected  Archon  Eponymus,  he 
was  ostracized  and  retired  to  Argos. 

From  the  narrative  of  Thucydides,  we  must  infer 
that  the  ostracism  of  Themistocles  took  place  B.  C. 
471.  He  says  that  when  the  exiled  Athenian  sent  the 
letter  to  Artaxerxes,  referred  to  below,  that  monarch 
had  just  succeeded  to  the  throne  on  the  death  of  his 
father  Xerxes.  The  authorities  agree  that  Xerxes 
died  465  B.  C.  This  date  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the 
fact  that  Themistocles  must  have  presented  himself  to 
the  Great  King  in  that  year.    "  Aristotle's  Constitution 


I 


FLIGHT    OF   THEMISTOCLES 


38s 


of  Athens,"  a  lost  work  of  the  great  philosopher  of 
antiquity,  which  had  not  been  seen  by  mortal  eye  for 
nearly  eighteen  centuries,  was  discovered  in  Egypt  in 
1890,  written  on  rolls  of  papyrus.  In  this  book,  Aris- 
totle presents  some  new  views  of  history.  He  declares 
(Ch.  25)  that  in  the  archonship  of  Conon,  462  B.  C, 
-^phialtes  brought  about  a  revolution  in  which  the 
council  of  Five  Hundred,  instituted  under  the  Consti- 
tution of  Clisthenes,  was  stripped  of  its  prerogatives 
from  which  it  derived  its  guardianship  of  the  constitu- 
tion. In  this  revolution,  Aristotle  says,  iEphialtes  was 
assisted  by  Themistocles,  who  at  that  time  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Areopagus,  but  was  expecting  to  be  tried 
before  it  on  a  charge  of  treasonable  dealings  with  Per- 
sia. If  we  accept  the  evidence,  thus  presented  in  Aris- 
totle's work,  the  date  of  the  ostracism  of  Themistocles 
could  not  have  occurred  earlier  than  461  B.  C,  four 
years  after  the  death  of  Xerxes.  The  conflicting  state- 
ments cannot  be  reconciled.  The  weight  of  authority 
indicates  that  the  narrative  of  Thucydides  is  correct, 
and  that  471  B.  C.  is  the  correct  date  of  the  ostracism 
of  Themistocles. 

When  the  treason  of  Pausanias  was  revealed,  Themis- 
tocles was  implicated  as  a  co-conspirator  and  having 
fled  secretly,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the  City  of 
Ephesus,  in  Ionia.  He  went  to  Susa  and  took  refuge 
as  a  suppliant  in  the  Court  of  Artaxerxes  Longimanus, 
son  of  Xerxes,  whose  fleet  Themistocles  had  defeated 
fifteen  years  before  at  Salamis.  In  B.  C.  465  he  had 
just  succeeded  to  the  throne,  on  the  death  of  his  father. 
The  distinguished  fugitive  offered  his  sword  to  the  Per- 
sian monarch  and  promised  to  aid  him  in  any  expedi- 
tion he  might  wish  to  undertake  for  the  conquest  of 
Greece.  He  sent  a  letter  to  Artaxerxes  which  has  been 
preserved  by  Thucydides  in  which  he  writes :  "  I, 
Themistocles,  have  come  to  you,  I,  who  of  all  Hellenes 
did  your  house  the  greatest  injuries  so  long  as  I  was 


•^ 


I* 


m 


386 


MlLITAEY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


\4 


compelled  to  defend  myself  against  your  father;  but 
still  greater  benefits  when  I  was  in  safety,  and  he  in 
danger,  during  his  retreat.  And  there  is  a  debt  of 
gratitude  due  to  me."  Here  the  writer  related  how  he 
had  forewarned  Xerxes  at  Salamis  of  the  resolution 
his  countrymen  to  withdraw,  and  how,  through  his  in- 
fluence as  he  pretended,  they  had  refrained  from  des- 
troying the  bridge  across  the  Hellespont  to  cut  off  his 
retreat.  "  Now,  I  am  here,"  he  continues,  "  able  to  do 
you  many  other  services,  and  persecuted  by  the  Hellenes 
for  your  sake.  Let  me  wait  a  year  and  then  I  will  my- 
self explain  why  I  have  come."  ^ 

He  captivated  Artaxerxes  with  his  blandishments, 
and  was  made  governor  of  Magnesia.  The  King  also 
assigned  to  him  for  bread  the  latter  city,  which  pro- 
duced a  yearly  revenue  of  fifty  talents,  a  sum  equal  to 
more  than  $50,000.  For  wine  he  was  assigned  Lamp- 
sacus,  in  the  Troad,  the  richest  wine-growing  district 
then  known.  For  meat  he  had  the  city  of  Myus  in 
Ionia,  about  fifteen  miles  south  of  Magnesia.  Themis- 
tocles,  however,  did  not  long  survive  after  receiving 
these  favors  at  the  hands  of  the  Persian  monarch.  He 
sickened  and  died  presumably  464  B.  C.  In  this  con- 
nection Thucydides  remarks,  that  in  some  quarters  it 
was  said,  that  Themistocles  poisoned  himself,  because 
he  felt  that  he  could  not  accomplish  what  he  had  prom- 
ised to  the  King.  In  other  words  it  was  believed  that 
he  was  goaded  by  remorse  and  rather  than  lift  his 
sword  against  his  countrymen,  he  chose  to  perish  by  his 
own  hand. 

To  illustrate  his  overweening  ambition,  as  indicated 
by  his  jealousy  of  Miltiades,  stimulated  by  the  grow- 
ing fame  of  his  great  achievement  at  Marathon,  Plu- 
tarch says  that  he  frequently  passed  sleepless  nights, 
and  avoided  his  usual  places  of  recreation,  and  by  way 

*Thucyd.  i,  137. 


GLOOMY    PROPHECY 


3^7 


of  explanation  told  those  who  wondered  at  these  things, 
that  "  the  trophy  of  Miltiades  would  not  let  him  sleep." 
Ambition  was  the  scarlet  sin  that  robbed  this  extraor- 
dinary man  of  rest  and  sleep.  His  utter  fearlessness 
and  contempt  for  all  sorts  of  religious  superstitions 
which  prevailed  in  that  age,  is  demonstrated  by  his 
method  of  interpreting  the  answer  of  the  Pythoness  at 
the  Temple  of  Delphi,  whither  the  Athenians  had  sent 
a  delegation  to  consult  the  oracle,  as  to  the  threatened 
invasion  of  Hellas  by  the  innumerable  hosts  of  Xerxes, 
then  mobilizing  at  Sardis. 

Scarcely  had  the  envoys  finished  the  customary  rites 
about  the  sacred  precincts,  and  taken  their  seats  within 
the  sanctuary,  when  the  oracle  delivered  the  prophecy, 
which  filled  them  with  gloom  and  despondency.  It  was 
not  a  prophecy  at  all,  but  a  fierce  and  uncalled  for  de- 
nunciation in  the  nature  of  a  curse,  and  wound  up  with 
a  demand  that  the  suppliants  get  out  of  the  sanctuary. 
It  began  as  follows: 

"  Wretches,  why  sit  ye  here?    Fly,  fly,  to  the  ends  of  creation, 
Quit  your  homes  and  your  city  of  the  violet  crown." 

All  was  lost,  all  ruined,  they  were  told.  Fire  and  the 
impetuous  Ares  speeding  in  a  Syrian  chariot  hastens  to 
destroy  you ;  and  your  shrines  and  towers  will  be  given 
to  fiery  destruction.  Black  blood  shall  trickle  from 
the  roofs  of  your  dwellings,  prophetic  sign  of  impend- 
ing destruction.  Get  away  from  the  temple ;  and  brood 
on  the  ills  that  await  you. 

Seeing  the  despondency  occasioned  by  this  infamous 
prognostication,  Timon,  a  man  of  influence  at  Delphi, 
persuaded  the  suppliants  to  enter  the  temple  with  olive 
branches,  and  consult  the  oracle  a  second  time. 
Whether  Timon  was  seeking  a  bribe  from  the  envoys 
we  are  not  informed.  The  Athenians  then  supplicated 
the  priestess  as  they  were  advised,  and  asked  for  a 


388 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


further  prophecy  more  favorable  to  them.  Otherwise, 
thej  declared,  thej  would  never  leave  the  sanctuary, 
but  would  remain  till  death  released  them  from  their 
despondency.  The  second  answer  was  not  much  of  an 
improvement  on  the  first.  It  declared  that  Athene  had 
not  been  able,  with  her  prayers  and  supplications,  to 
soften  Olympian  Zeus.  "  But  when  the  foe  shall  have 
taken  whatever  the  limit  of  Cecrops  holds  within  it, 
and  all  which  divine  Cithaeron  shelters,  Zeus  grants  to 
Athene  that  the  wooden  wall  alone  shall  remain  uncon- 
quered  to  defend  you  and  your  children.  Stand  not  to 
await  the  assaults  of  horse  and  foot,  but  turn  your 
backs  to  the  foe  and  retire.  A  day  will  come  when  you 
will  meet  him  in  battle.  O  divine  Salamis,  thou  too  shalt 
destroy  the  children  of  women,  either  at  the  seed  time 
or  at  the  harvest."  ^ 

When  this  prophecy  was  made  known  at  Athens 
many  interpretations  were  put  upon  it.  Some  sup- 
posed the  "  wooden  wall  "  referred  to  an  ancient  bar- 
ricade, which  once  defended  the  citadel  on  the  acropo- 
Hs.  All  were  filled  with  dismal  forebodings.  Then 
Themistocles  gave  his  interpretation.  He  declared  that 
the  "  wooden  wall "  in  which  the  gods  told  them  to  put 
their  trust  was  their  ships,  and  that  their  salvation  lay 
in  the  Athenian  navy,  not  in  the  barricades  on  the 
acropolis.  He  reminded  them  that  the  language  re- 
ferred not  to  wretched  Salamis,  but  to  divine  Salamis, 
indicating  that  the  island  was  endeared  to  them  and 
beloved  by  the  gods.  The  result  proved  the  unerring 
sagacity  and  judgment  of  this  remarkable  man. 

His  forbearance  and  complete  self  control  was  shown 
at  the  conference  of  commanders,  on  the  night  before 
the  memorable  naval  engagement  at  Salamis.  Eury- 
biades,  with  others  from  Corinth  and  the  Peloponnesus, 
had  overruled  Themistocles  and  voted  to  withdraw  the 


» Herod,  vli,  141. 


OUTWITS    THE    liACEDAEMONIANS  389 

fleet  from  the  straits  at  dawn  on  the  foUowincr  mom- 
mg.  The  latter,  nothing  daunted,  continued  to  argue 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  remaining  where  they  were.  His 
persistence  so  enraged  Eurybiades,  that  rising  in  his 
place  he  advanced  with  threatening  words,  and  shook 
his  staff  at  the  Athenian.  "  Strike,  but  hear  me,"  was 
his  only  reply  to  the  Admiral.  He  might  have  drawn 
his  sword  and  smote  the  offender.  But  as  Carlyle  ob- 
serves, to  forbear,  and  waive  redress  for  the  insult,  in 
order  to  extinguish  his  resentments,  soothe  his  hearers, 
and  keep  the  fleet  where  it  was  for  his  country's  sake, 
exhibited  the  highest  patriotism  and  displayed  true 
greatness. 

The  way  in  which  Themistocles  outwitted  the  Lace- 
daemonians, who  sought  to  prevent  the  Athenians  from 
rebuilding  the  walls  about  their  ruined  city,  which,  after 
the  slaughter  at  Thermopylae,  had  been  captured  and 
burned  by  the  Persians,  furnishes  a  further  illustration 
of  his  sagacity  and  resourcefulness.  After  the  victory 
at  Mycale,  which  tradition  says  was  won  on  the  same 
day  that  the  hosts  of  Mardonius  were  defeated  at 
Plataea,  the  Peloponnesian  fleet  went  home.  The  Athe- 
nians, however,  under  the  command  of  Xanthippus 
with  their  allies  from  Ionia  and  the  Hellespont,  con- 
tinued the  war,  and  besieged  and  took  the  city  of  Ses- 
tus.  They  then  returned  to  Attica,  in  the  spring  B.  C. 
478,  and  brought  back  their  wives  and  children  from 
Troezen,  ^Egina  and  Salamis  whither  they  had  taken 
refuge  at  the  approach  of  Xerxes,  and  set  about  to 
rebuild  their  city  and  reconstruct  its  walls.  Thucydides 
relates,  what  then  occurred,  substantially  as  follows : 

The  Lacedaemonians,  who  were  decidedly  averse  to 
walled  cities  impelled  by  the  importunity  of  their  allies 
who  feared  their  growing  navy  and  the  spirit  which 
animated  the  Athenians  in  the  Persian  War,  requested 
them  not  to  restore  their  walls,  but  in  order  to  place 
all  cities  upon  an  equality  to  join  with  them  in  razing 


i' 


390 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


the  fortifications  of  other  towns.    They  concealed  their 
real  designs,  but  in  support  of  their  request,  advanced 
the  argument  that  if  the  Persians  should  again  invade 
Greece  they  would  find  no   fortified  place  in  which  to 
make  their  headquarters  as  Mardonius  had  lately  done 
in  Thebes.     The  Peloponnesus  in  such  an  event,  they 
argued,  would  furnish  a  safe  retreat  for  all  Hellas  and 
a  good  base  of  operations.     And  now  comes  Themis- 
tocles  with  his  sage  advice  and  wise  council.     In  order 
to  get  rid  of  the  Spartans  the  Athenians  suavely  re- 
plied that  the  matter  would  be  taken  under  advisement 
and   the   envoys  quietly   departed.      Themistocles   then 
proposed  that  he  himself  should  repair  to  Sparta,  and 
that  they  should  give  him  colleagues  who  should  not 
follow  at  once,  but  wait  until  the  walls  had  reached  a 
height,  when  they  could  be  used  as  a  defense.    He  urged 
that  that  work  should  be  carried  on  with  all  possible 
dispatch,    and   that    everybody   including   women    and 
children  should  assist.     He  said  he  would  himself  man- 
age the  business  in  Sparta,  and  departed.     On  his  ar- 
rival at  the  capital  of  Lacedaemon,  he  did  not  at  once 
present  himself  officially  to  the  ephors,  but  continued 
to  make  excuses,  and  when  asked  "  why  he  did  not  ap- 
pear before  the  assembly,"  he  said  "  that  he  was  wait- 
ing for  his  colleagues,  who  had  been  detained  by  some 
engagement."     He  was  daily  expecting  them,  he  said 
"  and  wondered  why  they  did  not  appear."     (Thucyd. 
i,  90.) 


u 


The  fox  barks  not  when  he  would  steal  the  lamb.*' 


The  Lacedaemonians  were  well  disposed  towards 
Themistocles.  After  his  great  achievement  at  Salamis, 
he  visited  Sparta,  and  was  honored  as  no  foreigner  had 
ever  been.  As  a  token  of  esteem,  he  was  presented  with 
a  chariot  and  loaded  with  honors.  The  magistrates, 
therefore,  were  induced  to  believe  him.    But  when  every- 


)■■  I 

'Tl  I 


ACCOEDED    HONOES   AT   SPAETA 


391 


body  who  came  from  Athens  reported  that  the  walls 
were  being  rapidly  constructed,  and  had  already 
reached  a  considerable  height,  they  were  astounded. 
Then  the  wily  Themistocles  displayed  his  craft  and 
cunning.  He  begged  the  ephors  not  to  be  misled  by 
reports,  but  to  send  to  Athens  select  men  whom  they 
could  trust  to  make  a  personal  inspection  and  report 
what  they  had  themselves  discovered.  He  then  secretly 
sent  word  to  the  Athenians  to  detain  these  envoys 
quietly,  and  not  permit  them  to  depart  until  he  and  his 
colleagues  Aristides  and  Lysimachus  (who  had  arrived 
in  the  meantime,  and  reported  that  the  walls  were  of 
sufficient  height)  had  returned  in  safety. 

The  Athenians  accordingly  detained  the  envoys,  and 
when  the  Laccda^nonians  became  aware  of  this,  Themis- 
tocles blandly  informed  them  that  Athens  was  now  a 
walled  city,  and  could  protect  her  citizens. 

The  most  wonderful  achievement  in  the  annals  of 
war  was  his  victory  over  the  Persians  at  Salamis.  Im- 
mediately after  that  event,  he  became  the  most  con- 
spicuous man  in  Hellas.  The  world  was  filled  with  his 
fame.  He  was  regarded  everywhere  as  the  wisest 
among  all  the  Greeks.  When  he  visited  Sparta,  the 
Lacedaemonians  accorded  him  the  highest  honors.  They 
presented  him,  Herodotus  says  (viii,  124),  with  a  crown 
of  olives,  as  the  prize  of  wisdom  and  dexterity,  and  on 
his  departure  he  was  escorted  as  far  as  the  borders  of 
Tegea  by  the  order  of  the  Knights,  a  body  of  three 
hundred  picked  Spartans,  a  most  unusual  honor  which 
was  never  conferred  by  the  Lacedaemonians  upon  any 
one  before  or  since.  According  to  Diodorus,  he  received 
also  on  his  visit  a  sum  of  money  double  the  amount  that 
was  given  to  any  other  commander  who  fought  at 
Salamis.  Lord  Rosebery,  referring  to  Napoleon,  ob' 
serves  that  besides  that  indefinable  spark  which  we  call 
genius,  the  Corsican  represented  a  combination  of  in- 
tellect   and    energy    which    has    never    perhaps    been 


M^ 


392 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OP    GBEECE 


equalled,  never  certainly  surpassed.  He  carried  human 
faculty  to  the  furthest  point  of  which  we  have  accurate 
knowledge.  Until  his  time  he  says,  no  one  could  realize 
that  there  could  be  so  stupendous  a  combination  of 
military  and  civil  genius,  such  comprehension  of  view, 
united  to  such  grasp  of  detail,  such  prodigious  vitality 
of  body  and  mind. 

Did  any  of  the  wonderful  military  achievements  of 
Napoleon  surpass  the  feat  accomplished  by  Themis- 
tocles  at  Salamis  in  the  Second  Persian  War? 

The  eminent  historian  Thucydides  (471-396)  a  con- 
temporary of  the  great  Athenian  thus  briefly  sketched 
the  prominent  characteristics  of  Themistocles.  "  He 
was  a  man  whose  natural  force  was  unmistakable.  This 
was  the  quality  for  which  he  was  distinguished  above 
all  other  men.  From  his  own  native  acuteness,  and  with- 
out any  study,  either  before  or  at  the  time,  he  was  the 
ablest  judge  of  the  course  to  be  pursued  in  a  sudden 
emergency,  and  could  best  divine  what  was  likely  to 
happen  m  the  remotest  future.  Whatever  he  had  in 
hand,  he  had  the  power  of  explaining  to  others,  and 
even  where  he  had  no  experience  he  was  quite  competent 
to  form  a  sufficient  judgment.  No  man  could  foresee 
with  equal  clearness,  the  good  or  evil  event  which  was 
hidden  in  the  future.  In  a  word,  Themistocles,  by 
natural  power  of  mind  and  with  the  least  preparation, 
was  of  all  men  the  best  able  to  extemporize  the  right 
thing  to  be  done."     (Thucyd.  i,  138.) 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

PLAT^A 

PLATiEA  — pla-te-a  — [nXaraia].  A  historic  city  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Asopus,  in  Boeotia,  under  the  shadows  of  Cithaeron, 
the  mountain  range  that  forms  the  boundary  between  Boeotia  and 
Attica.  It  is  eight  miles  southwest  of  Thebes,  and  four  miles 
south  of  the  river  Asopus,  which  flows  between  the  territory  of 
Plataea  and  Thebes,  and  thirty-one  miles  northwest  of  Athens. 
Here  the  Persians,  under  Mardonius,  were  defeated  by  the 
Greeks  under  Pausanias,  September  B.  C.  479.  This  defea't  and 
the  reverse  of  the  Persians  on  the  same  day  at  Mycale,  ended 
the  Second  Persian  War. 

HE  final  campaign  of  the  Second  Persian  War 
in  Europe  began  and  ended  with  the  battle  of 
PlatfEa,  B.  C.  479.  It  may  be  regarded  as 
the  most  memorable  engagement  in  the  his- 
tory of  Greece.  It  was  equally  as  impor- 
tant as  Marathon  because,  although  the  Persians  suf- 
fered ignominious  defeat  there,  they  mustered  new 
armies  and  new  fleets  with  which  they  sought  to  con- 
quer Greece.  It  was  equally  as  important  as  Salamis, 
because  at  the  latter  only  the  fleet  of  Xerxes  was  van- 
quished, while  his  formidable  army  remained  unharmed. 
At  Plataea,  Mardonius  endeavored  to  retrieve  on  land 
the  disastrous  defeat  suffered  by  the  Persians  at  sea  the 
previous  year.  Marathon  was  the  first  battle  fought 
by  a  Perisan  army  in  Greece,  Plataea  was  the  last.  At 
Plataea,  the  fruits  of  Marathon  and  Salamis  were  made 
permanent.  Greece  there  won  finally  her  liberty  and 
independence.  The  momentous  results  of  the  struggle 
caused  her  to  regard  the  field  of  Plataea  as  hallowed 

393 


1 1! 


iiW 


394 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


ground,  and  henceforward  the  historic  city  was  conse- 
crated as  the  battle  monument  of  Hellas. 

Three  hundred  thousand  Persians  with  about  fifty 
thousand  Greek  allies,  under  Mardonius,  were  defeated 
at  Plataea  by  the  Athenians  and  Lacedaemonians  and 
their  allies,  who  numbered  one  hundred  and  ten  thou- 
sand, under  Pausanias,  King  of  Sparta.  This  was  the 
largest  Greek  army  ever  assembled  fighting  as  allies. 
Mardonius  was  killed,  his  forces  routed  by  the  army  of 
Liberation,  and  the  Persian  wars  in  continental  Greece 
were  brought  to  a  close.  The  victory  at  Mycale  (q.  v.) 
off  the  island  of  Samos,  and  the  headland  of  Mycale  in 
Ionia,  achieved  on  the  same  day  on  which  the  battle  was 
fought  at  Plataea,  brought  disaster  to  the  Persian  arms 
in  Asia. 

To  ameliorate  the  shock  and  bitter  disappointment 
which  the  Persians  sustained  in  view  of  their  inglorious 
retreat,  after  the  battle  of  Salamis  and  to  save  his  own 
reputation,  Mardonius,  who  was  instrumental  in  urging 
and  advising  the  invasion  of  Greece,  besought  Xerxes, 
who  had  ordered  the  entire  army,  to  retire  with  all  ex- 
pedition to  Asia,  to  permit  him  to  remain  in  Thessaly, 
with  three  hundred  thousand  men.  With  these  troops, 
augmented  by  Grecian  auxiliaries,  who  went  over  to 
Xerxes,  and  fresh  troops  from  Thrace  and  Macedonia, 
he  promised  Xerxes  that  he  would  complete  the  subju- 
gation of  Greece  in  the  following  spring.  The  request 
was  granted.  In  May  or  June  B.  C.  479,  Mardonius 
quitted  his  winter  quarters  in  Thessaly.  He  marched 
through  the  pass  of  Thermopylae,  unopposed  into 
Boeotia,  invaded  Attica,  and  made  his  headquarters  in 
the  partially  burned  city  of  Athens,  whose  inhabitants 
had  again  fled  for  safety  to  the  island  of  Salamis.  The 
Persian  commander  held  out  the  most  flattering  induce- 
ments to  persuade  the  Athenians  to  make  terms  with 
him,  and  to  become  an  ally  of  Persia.  He  offered  to 
rebuild  Athens  on  a  magnificent  scale,  fill  its  treasury 


' 


ARISTIDES'    ANSWER    TO    MARDONIUS 


395 


with  gold,  and  make  the  Athenians  supreme,  and  lords 
of  Greece.  The  lofty  patriotism  of  Athens  is  reflected 
in  the  reply  which  was  sent  to  the  Persians  in  response 
to  his  proposals.  Aristides  gave  the  answer  to  Alex- 
ander, King  of  Macedon,  the  envoy  selected  by  Mar- 
donius. "Tell  Mardonius,"  said  Aristides,  "that  as 
long  as  the  sun  shall  keep  the  same  path  in  the  heaven, 
we  will  never  make  peace  with  Xerxes,  and  will  wage 
war  with  the  Persians  for  the  country  they  have  wasted, 
and  the  temples  they  have  profaned  and  burnt."  Can 
any  one  doubt,  that  if  these  terms  had  been  offered  to 
the  Spartans,  as  they  were  offered  to  the  Athenians, 
that  the  offer  of  Mardonius  would  have  been  accepted. 

Meantime,  the  Spartans,  fearing  that  the  Athenians 
might  ally  themselves  with  the  Persians,  sent  ambassa- 
dors to  prevail  upon  them  not  to  make  terms  with  Mar- 
donius, and  promised  to  send  at  once  a  strong  army 
to  succor  Athens.  These  ambassadors  were  present  in 
the  council  when  the  patriotic  refusal  of  Athens  to 
accept  the  overtures  of  the  Persians  was  communicated 
to  Alexander.  Aristides  then  to  assure  the  Spartans 
that  Athens  would  do  her  duty  to  her  country,  told  their 
ambassadors  to  tell  the  Lacedaemonians  that  all  the 
treasure  on  the  earth,  or  under  it,  was  of  less  value  to 
the  people  of  Athens,  than  the  liberty  of  Greece. 

The  Lacedaemonians,  however,  were  not  possessed  of 
the  lofty  ideals  which  prevailed  in  Attica.  During  the 
time  these  negotiations  were  progressing,  the  Spartans 
and  their  allies  busied  themselves  in  completing  the  for- 
tification on  the  isthmus  of  Corinth  to  prevent  an  in- 
vasion of  the  Peloponnese.  This  work  had  been  pushed 
vigorously  the  previous  year,  when  Xerxes  threatened 
the  Dorian  peninsula,  and  was  restrained  only  by  his 
defeat  at  Salamis.  The  Lacedaemonians  and  their  allies 
believing  that  they  could  defeat  the  Persians  if  they 
should  attempt  to  enter  the  Peloponnese,  delayed  send- 
ing the  promised  succor  to  the  Athenians  or  to  the 


Il, 


396 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


Megarians  and  Plataeans.  They  did  not  in  the  slightest 
degree  appreciate  the  patriotism  of  their  countrymen 
who  for  love  of  liberty  rejected  the  alluring  proposals 
of  Mardonius,  but  remained  steadfast  in  their  loyalty 
to  Greece,  and  defied  the  threatening  power  of  Persia. 
The  Athenians  were  imbued  in  declining  the  tempting 
offers  of  the  invaders  with  a  commendable  spirit  of 
patriotism  and  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  Hellas. 
The  selfish  conduct  of  the  Lacedaemonians  in  seeking  to 
shut  out  the  Persians  and  permit  Athens  and  her  two 
allies  on  the  hither  side  of  their  fortified  wall  to  shift  for 
themselves,  showed  that  the  Peloponnesians  were  neither 
patriotic  nor  public-spirited,  nor  possessed  of  even 
common  honesty  towards  their  own  kinsmen  in  Central 
Greece.  Their  conduct  on  this  occasion  illustrates  the 
difference  between  the  enterprising,  active,  alert  Ionian 
and  the  dull,  stupid,  phelgmatic  Dorian.  Indeed,  had 
the  Peloponnesians  continued  to  ignore  the  claims  of 
the  Athenians,  the  latter,  deserted  by  their  kinsmen, 
save  only  Megara,  and  patriotic  Plataea,  might  finally 
have  been  forced  to  become  an  ally  of  Persia,  under  the 
proposals  of  Mardonius,  who  wanted  to  make  the  Athe- 
nians not  subject  allies,  but  independent  allies  and  give 
Athens  control  of  Greece.  The  stupid  and  selfish  Spar- 
tans, however,  were  at  length  reminded  by  Chilos,  a 
Tegean,  that  the  fortifications  on  the  isthmus  of 
Corinth  would  avail  nothing  against  the  combined 
fleets  of  the  Persians  and  Athenians,  should  the  latter 
form  an  alliance  with  Mardonius,  as  the  Peloponnesian 
peninsula  was  on  all  sides,  save  at  the  isthmus,  open  to 

the  sea. 

The  Spartan  ephors,  now  for  the  first  time,  seemed 
to  realize  the  danger  of  delay.  They  found  that  they 
could  not  with  safety  segregate  themselves  from  Cen- 
tral Greece.  On  the  night  of  the  day  the  council  was 
held,  they  sent  forward  an  army  of  Spartans  under 
Pausanias,  their  King.    They  then  dispatched  to  Attica 


4 


MABDONIUS    RETIRES    TO    BOEOTIA 


397 


and  Salamis  their  swiftest  couriers  to  apprise  the  Athe- 
nians that  troops  were  on  their  way  to  aid  in  the  libera- 
tion of  Greece.  The  chosen  rendezvous  was  Eleusis  in 
Attica.  Here  the  Athenians,  under  Aristides,  crossed 
over  from  Salamis  and  joined  the  Peloponnesians. 
Allies  arrived  daily  at  Eleusis. 

News  of  the  Spartan  advance  was  quickly  communi- 
cated by  his  couriers  to  Mardonius,  who  feared  to  re- 
main longer  in  Attica.  He  deemed  it  prudent  to  evacu- 
ate Athens.  He  recalled  a  body  of  horse  which  had 
been  sent  to  ravage  Megara.  He  had  allies  in  Thebes 
and  elsewhere  in  Boeotia,  and  decided  to  retreat  to  its 
more  friendly  territory.  That  city  had  warmly  es- 
poused his  cause,  and  in  Boeotia  Mardonius  determined 
to  conduct  his  campaign  for  the  subjugation  of  Hellas. 
His  line  of  retreat  from  Athens  was  northward  over 
the  road  leading  to  Dekelia,  from  there  he  advanced 
into  Boeotia  to  Tanagra  on  the  Asopus,  and  thence 
northwest  to  Thebes.  He  encamped  north  of  the  Aso- 
pus, near  the  city,  where  he  collected  all  his  forces  in 
the  hope  of  being  able  to  defeat  Sparta  and  Athens, 
and  their  allies  in  a  pitched  battle,  on  the  plain  on  the 
banks  of  that  river  which  divides  the  territory  of  the 
Plataeans  and  Thebans,  the  latter  being  allies  of  Mar- 
donius. 

In  order  to  form  some  idea  of  the  operations  on  the 
Asopus,  it  is  encessary  to  ascertain  the  character  and 
topography  of  the  ground  on  which  the  armies  con- 
tended. The  battle-field  of  Plataia  embraced  the  ter- 
ritory lying  between  the  city  of  Thebes  on  the  north, 
and  the  city  of  Plataea  on  the  south.  These  cities  are 
about  eight  miles  apart,  the  latter  being  southwest  of 
Thebes.  The  Asopus  rolls  about  midway  between  them. 
It  flows  from  west  to  east  across  Boeotia  and  empties 
into  the  straits  of  Eubcea.  The  southeastern  portion 
of  the  field  is  skirted  by  a  range  of  hills,  a  spur  of  the 
Cithaeron  range,  at  the  foot  of  which  a  branch  of  the 


398 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


Asopus  flows  north  into  the  main  stream.  In  these 
hills  are  the  villages  Erjthrae  and  Hysia,  the  latter  be- 
ing the  most  southerly.  About  seven  miles  to  the  north- 
west of  Platsea  stands  the  historic  city  of  Leuctra, 
where,  more  than  a  century  after  the  battle  fought  by 
Fausanias,  Thebes,  under  the  leadership  of  Eparainon- 
das,  gained  the  supremacy  in  Greece,  and  defeated  the 
hegemony  of  Sparta.  The  river  CEroe  flows  down  to 
the  plain  from  Mount  Citliferon,  in  front  of  the  city 
of  Plat«a.  Its  branches  proceed  from  their  sources 
a  short  distance  apart,  Herodotus  says  about  three 
stades  (600  feet  to  a  stade),  and  unite  near  the  city, 
forming  the  main  stream,  which  flows  west  and  south- 
erly into  the  Corinthian  gulf.  The  land  between  these 
branches  of  the  CEroe  is  called  the  Island.  The  north- 
em  slope  of  Mount  Cithaeron  forms  the  southern  bound- 
ary of  the  field.  This  range  also  forms  the  boundary 
between  Boeotia,  Attica  and  Megaris. 

Three  principal  roads  cross  the  Asopus,  and  extend 
from  Thebes  south,  through  this  territory.  The  most 
easterly  runs  to  Panacton,  through  Attica  to  Athens. 
The  middle  road  runs  to  Eleusis  in  Attica;  the  most 
westerly  extends  directly  to  Plata?a,  and  thence  south 
through  the  mountain  passes  to  the  Isthmus,  and  ports 
on  the  gulf  of  Corinth.  The  temple  of  the  Plataean 
Here  (Juno)  occupied  some  point  in  or  near  the  city 
of  Plataea.  The  fountain  of  Gargaphia,  which  sup- 
plied the  army  of  Pausanias  with  water  for  a  time,  is 
south  of  the  Asopus,  some  distance  west  of  the  Moloeis, 
a  branch  of  the  Asopus,  and  near  the  middle  and  eastern 
roads  leading  from  Thebes.  Not  far  from  this  foun- 
tain was  the  sacred  grove  of  the  hero  Androcrates,  near 
the  extreme  right  of  the  Greek  line,  when  aligned  in  its 
second  position.  Much  speculation  exists  as  to  the 
location  of  the  temple  of  the  Eleusian  Demeter  (Ceres) 
around  which  the  main  battle  was  fought.  It  was  not 
far  from  this  temple  that  Mardonius  was  killed.     Mr, 


H 


STOCKADE     AT     THEBES 


399 


G.  B.  Grundy,  who  spent  much  time  on  the  field  and 
compiled  an  elaborate  map  showing  its  topography, 
places  the  location  of  this  temple  south  of  Gargaphia 
in  the  plain  beyond  the  foot  of  the  long  ridges  extend- 
ing from  Cithaeron,  near  the  valley  of  one  of  the  small 
tributaries  of  the  Asopus.  Herodotus  says  that  while 
the  barbarians  fought  near  the  grove  in  which  the 
temple  stood,  not  one  was  seen  to  enter  the  sacred  en- 
closure, or  to  die  in  it,  but  most  of  them  fell  round  the 
precinct  in  unconsecrated  ground.  Mr.  Grundy  thinks 
the  grove  and  temple  stood  on  elevated  ground.  Mar- 
donius directed  large  quantities  of  timber  to  be  cut 
down,  and  between  the  city  of  Thebes  and  the  river, 
constructed  a  fortified  stockade,  more  than  a  mile 
square,  ten  stades,  Herodotus  says  (600  feet  to  a 
stade),  with  immense  towers  at  the  corners,  and  over 
the  entrances  to  the  stockade.  This  fortified  camp  was 
built  as  matter  of  precaution,  should  it  become  neces- 
sary to  seek  refuge  in  case  of  defeat.  He  deployed  his 
cavalry  from  the  river  Skolos,  a  tributary  of  the 
Asopus,  so  as  to  threaten  Erythrae  and  Hysia,  and  the 
entrance  to  the  Platasan  territory. 

The  army  of  Pausanias  consisted  entirely  of  in- 
fantry. He  had  no  cavalry,  and  but  few  archers.  It 
will  be  observed  in  this  connection  that  the  Persians 
were  skilfully  trained  horsemen,  and  expert  archers. 
As  soon  as  the  Athenians  under  Aristides  reached  Eleu- 
sis, the  soothsayer  having  consulted  the  slain  victims 
and  having  pronounced  the  signs  favorable,  Pausanias 
began  his  march  into  Boeotia,  without  waiting  for  all 
his  allies,  who  were  instructed  to  join  him.  His  army 
marched  through  the  passes  of  the  Cithaeron  and  when 
they  reached  the  northern  slope  of  the  mountain,  were 
posted  among  the  hills  and  ridges  to  Erythrae.  Here 
Pausanias  learned  that  the  barbarians  were  encamped 
and  strongly  entrenched  on  the  Asopus.  He  decided  to 
form  his  line  opposite  the  enemy.     Here,  on  the  slopes 


400 


MILITAEY  ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


of  Mount  Cithffiron,  opposite  Erjthrae,  the  Greek  army 
took  up  its  first  position.  The  second  position  was  south 
and  west  to  the  spring  of  Gargaphia,  and  the  river 
Asopus.     The  third  position  was  south  and  slightly 
west  to  what  was  called  the  Island,  namely,  a  stretch 
of  land  between  the  branches  of  the  river  (Eroe,  which 
flowed  southwest  from  Plataea  into  the  Gulf  of  Corinth. 
The  Greek  infantry  when  they  formed  their  first  line 
among  the  hills,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Cith^ron,  re- 
fused to  march  out  on  the  plain.     Pausanias  had  no 
cavalry  to  oppose  the  Persian  horsemen.     Mardonius 
had  commissioned  as  his  first  cavalry  officer,  Masistius, 
a  Persian  of  noble  birth.     He  was  a  skilful  officer,  a 
man  of  large  stature  and  commanding  presence.     His 
armor  consisted  of  a  breastplate  of  golden  scales,  over 
which  he  wore  a  rich  scariet  tunic.     He  rode  a  white 
charger,  reared  on  the  Nisaean  plain  in  Medea,  famed 
for  its  horses.    The  animal  was  richly  caparisoned,  and 
was  controUed  with  a  golden  bit.     This  Masistius  was 
the  Maherbal,  the  Murat,  the  Sheridan  of  the  Persian 
army  at  Plataea. 

^  Mardonius  sent  his  cavalry  under  command  of  Masis- 
tius to  dislodge  the  enemy  from  the  hills.  They  were 
armed  with  bows  and  javelins  and  though  archers, 
fought  as  cavalry.  The  position  of  the  Megarians  on 
the  line  of  battle  exposed  them  to  the  concentrated  at- 
tacks of  Masistius.  They  did  not  consider  themselves 
a  match  for  the  Persian  cavalry  and  finding  themselves 
outnumbered,  sent  word  to  Pausanias  that  they  must 
be  relieved  or  they  would  be  compelled  to  abandon  their 
posts.  Pausanias  then  called  for  volunteers  to  relieve 
the  Megarians.  A  body  of  three  hundred  Athenians, 
picked  men,  commanded  by  Olympiodorus,  undertook 
to  confront  Masistius,  and  his  body  of  cavalry.  They 
Tere  hoplites  supported  by  a  body  of  perhaps  3,000 
archers.  The  contest  was  fierce  and  for  a  long  time 
neither  side  would  yield.     The  barbarians  from  time  to 


DEATH    OF    MASISTIUS 


401 


time  charged  in  divisions,  and  being  received  by 
showers  of  arrows,  wheeled  and  returned  to  the  attack. 
During  one  of  these  charges,  led  by  Masistius,  the  lat- 
ter's  milk-white  charger,  as  the  division  was  about  to 
wheel,  was  struck  in  the  flank  by  an  arrow,  and  rearing 
on  its  haunches  threw  its  rider.  The  Athenians  knew 
from  the  conspicuous  uniform  of  the  wounded  man  that 
the  Persian  leader  lay  on  the  ground.  They  rushed 
upon  him,  and  tried  to  kill  him,  but  his  golden  armor 
resisted  their  assaults,  until  a  spear  or  javelin  was 
driven  through  his  visor,  pierced  his  eye,  and  caused  his 
death.  His  soldiers  were  not  aware  at  the  moment  that 
their  leader  had  been  killed.  When  they  learned  that 
he  had  fallen  and  was  taken  into  the  enemy's  lines,  the 
entire  contingent  of  horse  charged  in  a  mad  attempt  to 
recover  the  body.  Other  troops  in  the  line  now  came  to 
the  support  of  the  Athenians  and  succeeded  in  driving 
off^  the  enemy.  The  Persians  being  no  longer  able  to 
hold  their  ground  were  forced  to  retire  without  recov- 
ering the  dead  body  of  their  leader.  Mardonius  and  the 
entire  Persian  army  made  great  lamentations  on  ac- 
count of  the  severe  loss  they  had  sustained.  They 
shaved  their  heads  and  their  beards,  and  filled  all  Boeotia 
with  their  wailings. 

The  Greeks  were  correspondingly  elated.  They  took 
the  body  of  the  dead  general  and  placed  it  in  a  con- 
spicuous position  in  a  cart,  and  drove  it  through  their 
lines,  that  every  soldier  might  see  the  remains  of  the 
commander  who,  next  to  Mardonius,  was  considered  the 
best  man  in  the  Persian  army. 

After  this  incident  the  Greeks  determined  to  leave  the 
neighborhood  of  Erythrae,  and  take  a  new  position  past 
Hysia,  in  the  Platasan  territory,  and  here  they  drew 
themselves  up,  nation  by  nation,  "  near  the  fountain  of 
Gargaphia,  and  the  precinct  of  the  hero  Androcrates, 
on  slight  elevations  and  the  level  plain."  The  exact 
location  of  this  second  line  forms  the  subject  of  discus- 


402 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


sion  concerning  which  modern  historians  are  unable  to 
agree.    The  language  of  Herodotus  is  given  above.    The 
difficulty  arises  from  the  inability  to  correctly  locate 
the  fountain,  and  the  precincts  sacred  to  Androcrates. 
We  may  safely  assume,  however,  that  Pausanias  deemed 
it  imperative  to  take  up  this  new  position.     The  reason 
assigned  by  Herodotus  was  that  the  Plataean  territory 
appeared  to  be  much  more  convenient  for  them  to  en- 
camp   in    "  and    it   was    better    supplied    with    water." 
Hysia  was  much  nearer  the  main   Theban   road,  and 
commanded  important  passes  of  the  Cithaeron,  through 
which  fresh  troops  and  supplies  would  have  to  come 
from  Attica.     Doubtless,  the  Persian  cavalry  hindered 
the  Greek  infantry  and  prevented  them  from  obtaining 
water  from  the  Asopus,  or  its  tributaries.     Pausanias, 
for  reasons  which  appeared  to  him  sufficient,  abandoned 
his  position  near  Erythrae,  and  moved  his  forces  to  the 
south  and  west,  which  commanded  the  spring  of  Gar- 
gaphia,  which  furnished  an  abundant  water-supply.     It 
was  the  ancient  fountain  of  Diana,  near  which  was  the 
rock  of  Acta?on,  on  which  he  was  accustomed  to  repose 
when  fatigued  with  the  chase.    Here  it  was  said  Actjeon 
had  seen  the  goddess  bathing  in  the  fountain. 

Ever  since  Pausanias  had  entered  Boeotia,  he  had  con- 
stantly been  receiving  reinforcements.  When  he  de- 
ployed his  army  in  his  new  position,  they  were  aligned 
nation  by  nation.  Those  who  contributed  to  the  army 
of  liberation  in  the  aggregate  110,000  men,  are  as  fol- 
lows: 


1.  Spartans  (on  the  ex- 
treme right), 5,000 

2.  Laconians    (Perioci),  5,000 

3.  Tegeans    1,500 

4.  Corinthians    5,000 

5.  Potidaeans    300 

6.  Arcadians     (of     Or- 

chomenus)    600 

7.  Sicyonians  3,000 


8.  Epidaurians    800 

9.  Troezenians    1,000 

10.  Lepreats    200 

11.  Mycenaeans   Tirynthi- 

ans    400 

1 2.  Phliasians     1,000 

13.  Hermionians   300 

li.  Eretrians  and  Styr- 

ians   600 


ARMY    OF    PAUSANIUS 


403 


15. 

Chalcidians 

400 

16. 

Ambraciots 

500 

17. 

Leucadians 

and   An- 

actorians   . 

800 

18. 

Paleans  . . . 

300 

19.  iEginetans     500 

20.  Megarians    3,000 

21.  Plataeans   600 

22.  Athenians      (on     the 

extreme  left), 8,000 


Of  these  troops  there  were  both  heavy  armed  and 
light  armed.  The  Spartans  were  also  accompanied  by 
their  Helots  who  were  light  armed.  Every  Spartan 
was  accompanied  by  a  contingent  of  seven  Helots.  The 
army  of  Pausanias,  therefore,  may  be  summarized  as 
follows : 

Hoplites  (Heavy  armed)    38,700 

Light  armed  Helots  (7  to  each  Spartan) 35,000 

Other  light   armed   troops 34,500 

Thespians   1,800 

Total  Greek  forces 110,000 


It  may  be  observed,  also,  that  Xerxes  permitted  Mar- 
donius  to  choose  the  troops  that  he  wished  to  remain 
with  him  to  complete  the  conquest  of  Hellas.  They 
consisted  of  picked  men  in  the  expedition,  namely,  all 
of  the  Immortals  except  Hydarnes,  their  commander, 
who  refused  to  be  separated  from  Xerxes.  The  Persian 
cuirassiers  also  were  retained  and  all  the  Medes,  Sacae, 
Bactrians  and  Indians  both  horse  and  foot,  with  picked 
troops  drawn  from  other  nations.  His  troops  at 
Platsea  numbered  300,000  and  about  50,000  Greeks 
who  formed  an  alliance  with  him. 

Mardonius  took  up  his  position,  as  has  been  observed, 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Asopus,  facing  the  enemy. 
Both  armies  were  desirous  of  engaging  but  feared  to 
do  so  until  the  sacrifices  were  declared  favorable.  In 
that  age,  war  had  not  yet  been  reduced  to  anything  like 
a  science.  The  soothsayer,  or  diviner,  controlled  the 
movement  of  armies.  The  advice  of  the  soothsayer 
depended  on  what  indications  were  derived  from  the 


« 


404 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


animal  sacrifices  which  were  offered  to  the  gods,  and 
the  signs  and  portents  which  they  revealed. 

The  soothsayer  who  accompanied  the  Greeks  was 
Hippomachus.  He  advised  that  the  victims  were  favor- 
able so  long  as  they  stood  on  the  defensive,  but  not  if 
they  began  battle  or  crossed  the  Asopus.  It  is  a  singu- 
lar coincidence  that  the  soothsayer  in  the  Persian 
camp,  advised  Mardonius  precisely  the  same  as  the 
soothsayer  in  the  Greek  camp  had  advised  Pausanias. 
He  told  the  Persian  commander  that  the  victims  boded 
well  so  long  as  the  Persians  remained  on  the  defensive. 
Thus  by  the  will  of  heaven,  apparently,  the  opposing 
armies  were  obliged  to  remain  inactive,  as  neither  could 
safely  attack  the  other,  with  promise  of  success. 

Seven  days  had  passed,  and  no  general  engagement 
had  taken  place.  A  Theban  scout,  who  had  been  active 
in  reconnoitering  close  to  the  enemy's  line,  brought  in- 
telligence to  Mardonius,  that  supplies  and  fresh  contin- 
gents were  constantly  coming  in  through  the  mountain 
passes.  On  the  eighth  day  after  the  armies  faced  each 
other,  Mardonius  was  advised  to  send  at  dusk  a  strong 
detachment  of  cavalry  to  a  pass  in  the  mountains  which 
opens  into  Platjea,  known  as  the  Oak-Heads ;  but  desig- 
nated by  the  Boeotians  as  the  Three  Heads.  They  over- 
took a  detachment  of  Greeks  in  the  pass  and  captured 
five  hundred  beasts  of  burden,  as  they  were  about  enter- 
ing the  plain.  They  slew  all  the  cattle,  and  nearly  all 
the  men  who  had  been  sent  with  them.  After  this  in- 
cident two  days  more  passed  but  no  general  engage- 
ment had  yet  taken  place. 

Eleven  days  had  now  passed  since  the  opposing 
armies  faced  each  other  in  line  of  battle.  During  that 
time  their  operations  consisted  in  sorties  and  raids  of 
the  Persian  cavalry  in  their  attempts  to  harass  and  an- 
noy the  Greeks  among  the  foot-hills  and  passes  of  the 
Citha?ron  and  cut  off  their  supplies,  sent  through  the 
mountain  defiles,  and  prevented  them  from  obtaining 


AETABAZUS    ADVISES     BEIBES 


40s 


water  from  the  Asopus.  The  net  results  were  the  death 
of  Masistius,  the  chief  officer  of  the  Persian  cavalry, 
and  the  capture  and  slaughter  of  five  hundred  beasts  of 
burden  bringing  supplies  to  the  Greek  army  and  a  large 
part  of  the  detachment  accompanying  them.  There  had 
been  no  general  engagement,  but  during  that  time  fresh 
bodies  of  Greeks  had  been  arriving  almost  daily,  until 
the  army  of  Pausanias  now  numbered  110,000  men  as 
above  enumerated.  The  soothsayers  of  both  armies  had 
consulted  the  sacrificial  victims  and  both  commanders 
had  received  similar  advice,  that  it  would  be  inadvisable 
to  take  the  offensive.  The  delay  was  irksome  and 
tedious.  Mardonius  became  impatient.  He  deter- 
mined to  break  the  fetters  of  superstition  which  com- 
pelled him  to  remain  inactive.  He  held  a  council  of  war. 
The  wisest  advice  was  given  by  Artabazus.  He  seemed 
to  understand  the  Greek  charapter  thoroughly.  He 
told  Mardonius  that  bribery  was  the  most  powerful 
weapon  at  his  command  and  in  the  end  would  surely 
bring  about  the  purpose  he  sought  to  accomplish.  He 
argued  that  the  Persians  had  gold  and  silver  plate  and 
utensils  in  abundance,  and  large  quantities  of  gold  coin. 
He  advised  that  this  should  be  used  liberally  to  bribe 
the  leaders  in  the  army  of  Pausanias  to  corrupt  them, 
and  create  dissensions  in  their  camp.  The  result,  he 
predicted,  would  lead  to  their  disintegration.  He 
argued  that  numbers  of  the  enemy  from  corrupt  mo- 
tives would  soon  ally  themselves  with  the  Persians,  as 
the  Thebans  and  Thessalians  had  done.  The  views  of 
Artabazus  were  supported  by  the  Thebans  who  urged 
the  adoption  of  the  policy  he  had  outlined.  But  Mar- 
donius was  proud  and  high-spirited.  He  regarded  the 
methods  proposed  by  Artabazus  as  base  and  cowardly 
and  construed  them  as  a  reflection  upon  the  courage 
and  martial  spirit  of  his  army,  and  as  tantamount  to  a 
confession  that  the  Persians  were  unable  to  defeat  their 
enemies  in  battle,  but  were  obliged  to  resort  to  bribery 


I 


4o6 


MILITASY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


VISIT   OF   ALEXANDER    OF   MACEDON 


407 


as  the  only  means  whereby  they  could  prevail.  He 
realized  that  he  could  not  conduct  his  campaign  on  mili- 
tary principles  or  exercise  any  strategic  manoeuvres, 
so  long  as  the  movements  of  his  army  were  dictated  by 
soothsayers,  who  derived  their  information  solely  from 
the  knowledge  obtained  from  signs  indicated  by  the 
smoking  entrails  of  fresh  slain  victims,  which  were 
offered  as  sacrifices  to  the  gods. 

He  finally  inquired  if  any  man  in  the  council  knew  of 
any  prophecy  which  foreshadowed  the  defeat  of  the  Per- 
sian arms.  None  dared  speak,  well  knowing  the  im- 
patient temper  of  their  commander  at  this  particular 
time.  Then  Mardonius  himself  announced  the  prophecy 
with  which  he  was  familiar,  which  declared  that  if  their 
arms  should  sack  the  Temple  of  Delphi,  they  would 
meet  defeat  and  destruction  at  the  hands  of  their 
enemies.  But  Mardonius  declared  that  his  troops  would 
not  attack  the  Temple  of  Delphi,  and  that  he  had  not 
the  slightest  intention  of  doing  so.  And  as  this  was 
the  only  divine  utterance  on  the  subject,  it  could  have 
no  possible  application.  He  then  gave  orders  to  attack 
the  enemy  early  the  next  morning  and  bring  on  a  gen- 
eral engagement.  Herodotus  says  that  the  prophecy 
which  Mardonius  related,  with  respect  to  sacking  the 
Temple  of  Delphi,  was  well  kno^vn.  It  had  no  relation 
to  the  Persians,  but  referred  to  the  Illyrians  and  Enche- 
lians.  But  he  says  there  was  a  prophecy  delivered  by 
Bacis,  which  foretold  the  destruction  of  the  bow-bear- 
ing Medes,  despite  Lachesis  and  the  fates,  when  the 
destined  day  shall  come.* 

Herodotus,  at  this  stage,  introduces  the  story  of  the 
visit  of  Alexander,  King  of  Macedon,  who  came  in  dis- 
guise to  the  Greek  camp  to  disclose  to  the  Athenians  the 
intention  of  Mardonius  to  attack  on  the  following  day. 
This  action  on  the  part  of  Alexander  was  prompted  as 

*  Herod,  ix,  43. 


he  himself  declared,  because  in  his  veins  ran  Hellenic 
blood.  "  I  also  am  a  Greek,"  he  declared,  "  and  do  not 
desire  to  witness  the  defeat  of  my  countrymen.  I  am 
Alexander  of  Macedon."  * 

^^  A  distinguished  Greek  scholar,  in  a  paper  entitled  the 
"  Greeks  at  Plataea,"  2  seeks  to  discredit  this  incident 
related  by  Herodotus.  He  declares  that  the  dramatic 
declaration  of  Alexander,  when  he  had  delivered  his  mes- 
sage to  the  Greek  generals,  whereby  he  revealed  his 
identity,  was  at  least  wholly  unnecessary,  because  the 
writer  assumes  that  Alexander  was  speaking  directly 
to  Aristides,  commander  of  the  Athenian  forces.  Aris- 
tides  knew  Alexander  personally,  because  early  in  the 
season,  the  latter  was  chosen  by  Mardonius  as  his  mes- 
senger, to  visit  Athens,  and  delivered  to  their  leader, 
Aristides,  his  flattering  proposals  to  make  the  Athe- 
nians nominal  masters  of  Greece,  not  as  subject  allies, 
but  tribute  allies,  and  to  create  an  Athenian  oligarchy 
under  the  supervision  and  control  of  the  Persian  mon- 
arch, such  as  Thebes  was.  The  writer  assumes  that  this 
circumstance  is  enough  to  discredit  this  incident  re- 
lated by  Herodotus.  The  fact  that  Alexander  was  per- 
sonally acquainted  with  Aristides,  without  more,  is 
wholly  insuflicient  to  discredit  the  incident,  or  to  im- 
peach in  the  slightest  the  narrative  of  the  historian. 
It  is  probable  that  Aristides,  who  commanded  the  ex- 
treme left  of  the  line,  was  present  at  the  interview. 
It  is  possible,  also,  that  Pausanias  may  have  been  pres- 
ent with  other  officers,  not  personally  known  to  Alex- 
ander. The  fact  that  Alexander  disclosed  his  identity 
was  perfectly  natural,  after  he  had  given  the  important 
information.  Those  present,  who  did  not  know  the 
messenger  who  came  to  them  at  night,  in  disguise,  could 
verify  his  statement  by  referring  to  Aristides,  who  did 


'  Herod,  ix,  45. 

'Journal  of  Hellenic  Studies,  1898. 


4o8 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


CHALLENGE    OF    MARDONIUS 


409 


know  him.  The  declaration  disclosing  his  identity, 
therefore,  was  far  from  being  improbable,  and  added 
force  to  the  statements  made  by  Alexander. 

When  Pausanias  was  advised  that  he  was  to  be  at- 
tacked at  daylight  next  morning,  he  determined  to 
make  a  change  in  his  line,  so  as  to  shift  the  position 
of  his  troops,  in  order  that  the  Athenians  and  not  the 
Lacedaemonians  should  face  the  native  Persians,  in  the 
army  of  Mardonius.  His  Hne  of  battle  in  his  second 
position,  extended  from  the  middle  Thebes  road,  west, 
to  cover  the  fountain  of  Gargaphia,  a  short  distance 
south  of  the  main  stream  of  the  Asopus.  The  right 
wing  of  the  Greek  army  was  at  Gargaphia,  the  line  then 
extended  in  a  westerly  direction  past  the  grove  of  the 
Plata?an  hero  Androcrates.  The  Lacedaemonians  had 
the  post  of  honor  on  the  extreme  right  wing.  The  next 
most  honorable  position  was  on  the  extreme  left,  which 
was  assigned  to  Aristides  and  the  Athenians.  The 
Tegeans  took  post  on  the  left  of  the  Lacedaemonians. 
The  centre  was  occupied  by  the  other  cities  and  na- 
tions, as  they  called  themselves,  who  composed  the 
Greek  army. 

And  now  when  it  was  believed  a  general  engagement 
was  about  to  begin,  we  read  with  astonishment  that 
Pausanias,  a  Spartan,  in  whose  veins  ran  the  blood  of 
Hercules,  sought  to  change  places  in  the  line,  yielding 
to  the  Athenians,  the  post  of  honor,  the  post  occupying 
the  place  fraught  with  the  greatest  danger.  Because 
the  native  Persians  and  Sacae,  the  flower  of  the  army  of 
Mardonius,  occupied  the  left  of  his  line,  which  was  op- 
posite the  Greek  right,  Pausanias  ordered  the  Athe- 
nians from  the  left  to  the  right  of  the  line,  assigning 
as  a  reason  that  the  Athenians  had  tried  the  mettle  of 
the  Persians  at  Marathon,  while  his  Spartans  had  never 
fought  directly  with  them.  And  this  proposal  from 
a  Spartan  of  royal  blood,  despite  the  sacred  memories 
of  Thermopylae,  destined  to  make  the  name  of  Sparta 


immortal.  Shades  of  Leonidas,  cover  the  shame  and 
temporary  weakness  of  Pausanias. 

Aristides,  when  he  heard  that  his  Athenians  were  to 
occupy  the  post  of  honor  on  the  extreme  right,  received 
with  genuine  satisfaction  the  welcome  intelligence. 
From  the  first  he  had  expressed  the  desire  to  lead  the 
right  wing. 

The  Athenians,  when  on  the  extreme  left,  faced  the 
Boeotians  and  other  Greeks  who  had  allied  themselves 
with  Mardonius.  The  Spartans,  therefore,  were  placed 
on  the  extreme  left  opposite  the  Boeotians,  while  the 
Athenians  who  had  been  ordered  to  the  right,  now  faced 
the  Persians  and  Sacae,  the  bravest  men  in  the  army  of 
Mardonius. 

When  morning  broke  the  Boeotians  soon  discovered 
that  they  were  to  fight  Spartans  and  not  Athenians. 
Mardonius,  as  soon  as  he  learned  the  fact  as  to  the  new 
alignment,  determined  to  fight  with  the  Athenians  and 
began  to  lead  the  Persians  from  his  left  opposite  the 
Greek  right.  Herodotus  observes  that  "  when  Pau- 
sanias saw  that  this  was  being  done,  perceiving  that  he 
was  discovered,  he  led  the  Spartans  back  to  the  right 
wing;  and  Mardonius,  in  like  manner,  led  his  Persians 
toward  the  left."  ^ 

INIardonius  then  sent  a  herald  to  Pausanias  to  chal- 
lenge him  to  fight  with  an  equal  number  of  Lacedaemo- 
nians against  an  equal  number  of  Persians,  and  let  the 
armies  abide  the  result  of  the  duel.  He  upbraided  Pau- 
sanias, charging  that  he  and  his  Spartans  who  claimed 
to  be  the  bravest  of  men,  should  shrink  from  direct  con- 
flict with  barbarians.  Pausanias,  however,  declined  the 
challenge.  Mardonius  did  not  bring  on  a  general  en- 
gagement that  day,  as  had  been  anticipated,  but  sent 
his  cavalry  to  raid  and  harass  the  enemy.  They  shot 
their  arrows  and  hurled  their  javelins  from  their  horses 

*  Herod,  ix,  47. 


4IO 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


into  the  Greek  infantry,  and  succeeded  in  driving  them 
from  the  fountain  of  Gargaphia  for  a  sufficient  length 
of  time  to  enable  them  to  choke  and  fill  up  the  spring, 
which,  it  seems,  was  their  sole  source  of  water-supply 
at  this  time,  as  it  was  impossible  for  Pausanias  to  get 
water  from  the  Asopus,  "  by  reason  of  the  cavalry  and 
the  arrows."  * 

A  council  of  war  was  held  in  the  Greek  camp.  The 
enemy's  cavalry  had  practically  cut  off  their  water-sup- 
ply, and  were  patrolling  the  mountain  passes,  making 
it  impossible  for  the  Greeks  to  get  supplies  for  their 
army.  It  was  resolved  for  these  reasons  to  take  up  a 
new  position  on  the  Island  between  the  forks  of  the 
(EroB,  in  front  of  the  city  of  Platsea.  In  that  locality, 
there  was  abundance  of  water,  and  the  many  streams 
and  ridges  would  largely  protect  them  from  the  enemy's 
cavalry.  It  was  determined  to  make  the  move  in  the 
second  watch  of  the  night,  in  order  that  the  enemy 
might  not  see  them  setting  out,  and  to  escape  pursuit 
by  the  Persian  horsemen.  It  was  resolved,  also,  that 
when  they  reached  their  new  position  between  the  forks 
of  the  CErce  they  would  detail  half  their  forces  into  the 
passes  of  the  Cithaeron,  in  order  to  bring  in  the  at- 
tendants who  had  gone  for  provision,  for  they  were 
shut  up  in  the  mountains. 

When  night  brought  relief  from  the  arrows  of  the 
enemy's  cavalry,  and  hostilities  were  suspended  by  rea- 
son of  the  darkness,  a  large  part  of  the  army  marched 
away,  "  without  any  intention  of  going  to  the  place 
agreed  upon,"  while  others  fled  towards  the  City  of 
Plataja,  and  in  their  flight  arrived  at  the  Temple  of 
Here  (Juno)  which  stands  before  the  city  more  than 
two  miles  (twenty  stades,  12,000  feet)  from  the  foun- 
tain of  Gargaphia.  Before  the  precincts  of  this  sacred 
temple,  they  stood  to  their  arms.     Then  Pausanias  or- 


» Herod,  ix,  49. 


NEW    POSITION    OF    PAUSANIAS 


411 


dered  the  Lacedaemonians  to  proceed  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, being  under  the  impression  that  the  other  troops 
had  gone  to  the  Island,  the  place  agreed  upon.  But  the 
departure  was  hindered  by  a  Lacedaemonian  captain 
named  Amompharetus,  who  had  not  been  present  at 
the  council  of  war.  He  was  astonished  at  the  move- 
ment of  the  troops  and  declared  impetuously  that  he 
would  never  fly  from  foreigners  "  nor  willingly  bring 
disgrace  on  the  name  of  Sparta."  A  quarrel  ensued 
which  delayed  the  movement  of  the  Peloponnesians  until 
nearly  dawn.  Meantime,  the  Athenians,  who  occupied 
the  extreme  left,  sent  a  herald  to  ascertain  the  move- 
ments of  Pausanias.  The  herald  arrived  and  was  made 
aware  of  the  conduct  of  Amompharetus.  Finally,  Pau- 
sanias lost  all  patience  and  declared  that  the  obstinate 
captain  was  mad,  and  had  lost  his  senses.  He  then  ad- 
dressed the  herald  which  had  been  sent  by  the  Athenians, 
and  informed  him  of  what  had  occurred,  and  bade  him 
request  the  Athenians  to  act  in  harmony  with  the  Lace- 
daemonians with  regard  to  their  departure  from  their 
present  position.  Amompharetus,  however,  continued 
to  be  obstinate,  and  refused  to  obey  the  orders  of  Pau- 
sanias. The  latter,  then  fearing  to  delay  his  departure 
till  broad  day,  withdrew  his  forces  just  before  dawn, 
and  kept  to  the  rising  ground,  and  the  base  of  Cithaeron, 
to  avoid  the  enemy's  cavalry,  but  the  Athenians  marched 
towards  the  plain.  Amompharetus,  then  finding  himself 
and  his  band  alone,  slowly  retreated  towards  the  main 
body,  and  joined  Pausanias  "  at  the  river  Moloeis,  at  a 
place  called  Argiopius,  where  stands  a  temple  of  the 
Eleusian  Demeter  (Ceres)  "  which  is  a  little  more  than 
a  mile  (ten  stades)  from  their  former  position  at  the 
fountain  of  Gargaphia. 

When  it  was  day,  the  Persian  cavalry,  as  was  their 
custom,  rode  out  to  harass  and  annoy  the  enemy.  When 
they  approached  the  vicinity  which  the  Greeks  had  oc- 
cupied the  previous  day,  they  found  no  enemy  to  oppose 


412 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GE££C£ 


them.  They  then  rode  on  till  they  came  upon  the  troops 
of  Amompharetus,  and  pressed  them  closely.  This  cav- 
alry force,  however,  were  raiders  and  marauders,  who 
carried  on  their  operations  independent  of  the  main 
body  of  troops,  far  in  advance  of  the  Persian  lines. 

When  Mardonius  was  advised  by  couriers  from  the 
cavalry,  who  operated  south  of  the  Asopus,  that  the 
Greeks  had  retired  under  cover  of  the  night,  he  sum- 
moned three  of  his  Greek  allies.  Thorax  of  Larissa,  and 
his  two  brethren,  who  dwelt  in  Thessaly,  and  addressed 
them  as  follows: 

"  Sons  of  the  royal  house  of  Aleuas,  what  have  you 
to  say  now  when  you  see  the  olacc  occupied  by  the  Greek 
army  deserted.?  You  who  dwell  in  their  neighborhood 
reported  to  me  that  the  Lacedaemonians  never  fled  from 
battle,  but  were  the  bravest  of  mankind.  But  you  re- 
cently saw  them  change  their  place  in  the  line;  and 
now,  as  all  can  see,  they  ran  away  in  the  night.  When 
the  time  came  for  them  to  fight  with  the  bravest  warriors 
in  all  the  world,  verily  they  showed  plainly  that  they 
were  men  of  no  worth,  but  had  gained  distinction  among 
worthless  Greeks.  I  can  excuse  you  for  praising  the 
courage  of  men  of  your  acquaintance,  because  you  were 
ignorant  of  the  worth  of  the  Persians.  But  I  marvel 
at  Artabazus,  that  he  should  fear  the  Lacedaemonians, 
and  on  that  account  gave  us  foolish  advice,  bidding  us 
break  camp  and  remove  to  Thebes,  and  be  there  be- 
sieged by  the  enemy.  As  to  this  I  shall  take  pains  to 
acquaint  the  King.  But  of  this  hereafter.  Now  the 
enemy  must  be  pursued.  We  must  be  avenged  for  all 
the  wrongs  they  have  inflicted,  and  which  the  Persians 
have  sufl^ered  at  their  hands.  We  must  not  allow  them 
to  escape."  * 

Having  made  this  brief  address,  he  crossed  the 
Asopus  with  the  main  army,  for  the  first  time  during 


'■  Herod,  ix,  58. 


MESSAGE    TO    ARISTIDES 


413 


his  operations  in  Boeotia.  Mardonius  mounted  on  a 
blooded  charger  led  the  advance,  and  ordered  the  in- 
fantry forward  at  a  double-quick.  He  directed  his 
march  against  the  Lacedaemonians  and  Tegeans  only, 
whom  he  believed  to  be  in  actual  flight;  because,  on 
account  of  the  hills,  he  could  not  see  the  Athenians  who 
had  turned  into  the  plain.  When  the  commanders  of 
the  other  divisions  of  the  barbarians  saw  their  general 
lead  his  Persians  and  Sacae  across  the  Asopus,  they  im- 
mediately took  up  their  arms  and  standards,  and  all  ad- 
vanced pell-mell  with  a  shout,  in  a  throng  without  ob- 
serving either  rank  or  order,  believing  they  were  about 
to  overwhelm  the  Greeks. 

Meantime,  Pausanias,  when  he  saw  the  enemy's  cav- 
alry approaching,  sent  a  courier  to  the  Athenians,  en- 
treating them  to  come  to  his  aid.  From  the  tenor  of 
the  despatch,  it  would  seem  that  Pausanias  was  under 
the  impression  that  all  of  his  army  save  only  the  Lace- 
daemonians and  Tegeans,  ivho  were  with  him,  and  the 
Athenians,  who  had  marched  forward  on  the  plain,  had 
deserted  the  field.    The  message  is  as  follows : 

"  Men  of  Athens !  Now  that  the  crisis  has  arrived 
which  is  to  decide  the  freedom  or  slavery  of  Greece,  we 
twain,  Lacedaemonians  and  Athenians,  are  deserted  by 
all  the  other  allies,  who  have  fled  from  us  during  the 
past  night.  Nevertheless,  we  are  determined  what  to 
do  —  we  must  endeavor,  as  best  we  may,  to  defend  our- 
selves, and  succor  one  another.  Had  the  horse  fallen 
upon  you  first,  we  with  the  Tegeans  (who  remained 
faithful  to  our  cause)  would  have  been  bound  to  render 
you  assistance  against  them.  But  since  the  entire  body 
has  fallen  upon  us,  it  is  your  place  to  come  to  our  aid, 
as  we  are  sore  pressed  by  the  enemy.  If,  however,  you 
are  so  straightened  that  you  cannot  come,  at  least  send 
us  your  archers,  and  be  sure  you  will  earn  our  grati- 
tude. We  acknowledge  that  throughout  the  entire  war 
there  has  been  no  zeal  to  be  compared  to  yours,  and 


414 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


entertain   no   doubt   that  jou   will   listen    to   our   re- 
quest." 

As  soon  as  Aristides  received  the  despatch,  he  resolved 
to  go  to  the  relief  of  the  Spartans.  As  the  Athenians 
were  marching  to  their  assistance,  the  Thebans  and 
other  allied  Greeks  on  the  side  of  the  Persians,  whose 
place  in  the  line  the  day  before  was  opposite  the  Athe- 
nians, fell  upon  them,  and  so  harassed  them,  that  they 
were  unable  to  give  to  Pausanias  the  succor  they  de- 
^red.  Thus  it  transpired  that  the  Lacedemonians  and 
Tegeans,  aggregating  about  53,000  men,  were  left 
alone  to  fight  the  flower  of  the  Persian  army,  led  by 
Mardonius  in  person. 

And  now  as  the  decisive  conflict  was  about  to  begin, 
the  Greeks  began  to  offer  sacrifices.  For  some  time  the 
victims  were  not  favorable.  While  the  Greeks  thus  re- 
mained inactive,  awaiting  the  word  of  their  soothsayer 
to  pronounce  the  victims  favorable,  the  enemy  showered 
their  arrows  upon  them  with  deadly  eff'ect.  Many  were 
killed  and  wounded  during  this  period  of  inactivity.  For 
the  Persians  made  a  rampart  of  their  wicker  shields, 
which  they  planted  in  the  earth  in  their  front,  and  from 
behind  this  improvised  barricade  shot  clouds  of  arrows 
into  the  ranks  of  the  enemy.  The  victims  remained  un- 
propitious,  tiU  at  last,  appealing  for  divine  aid,  Pau- 
sanias raised  his  eye  towards  the  temple  of  Here  (Juno) 
which  stood  in  front  of  the  city  of  Plataea.  He  called 
on  the  goddess,  and  besought  her  not  to  disappoint  the 
hopes  of  Greece. 

While  he  was  still  praying,  his  hands  outstretched  in 
supplication,  amid  the  hail  of  arrows  and  javelins  show- 
ered upon  them  by  the  enemy,  the  Tegeans,  unable 
longer  to  remain  inactive  under  the  destructive  darts 
of  the  Persian  archers,  advanced  apparently  on  the  im- 
pulse, before  the  Laceda?monians  received  orders  to  at- 
tack. While  Pausanias  was  yet  supplicating  the  vic- 
tims became  favorable ;  the  soothsayer  foretold  victory, 


GUIDED    BY    SOOTHSAYERS 


415 


and  then,  after  their  long  delay,  the  Peloponnesians  ad- 
vanced. The  Persians,  then  laying  aside  their  bows, 
prepared  to  meet  the  enemy  in  a  hand  to  hand  con- 
flict. 

At  this  point  it  might  be  profitable  to  pause  and  re- 
flect upon  the  injustice  of  those  modem  critics,  who 
seek  to  discredit  the  narrative  of  Herodotus,  and  declare 
that  he  was  unjust,  because  he  failed  to  recognize  the 
merits  of  Pausanias  as  a  great  general.  Some  of  these 
writers  seem  to  think  that  Pausanias  was  a  wonderful 
strategist  and  was  not  given  credit  by  Herodotus  for 
making  his  turning  movement  from  Erythrae  to  the 
fountain  of  Gargaphia.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that 
Pausanias  did  not  depend  upon  military  strategy  at  all 
in  conducting  the  movements  of  the  Greeks  at  Plataea. 
At  the  critical  moment  in  that  engagement  Pausanias 
made  no  move  when  first  attacked.  He  did  not  seem 
to  contemplate  strategy  or  seek  to  execute  any  sort  of 
movement  which  might  give  him  an  advantage  on  the 
field.  When  attacked  he  prayed.  When  assaulted  by 
the  expert  archers  of  Mardonius,  when  his  men  were 
falling  about  him,  he  was  looking  towards  the  Temple 
of  Juno,  his  hands  raised  in  supplication.  This  was  in 
accordance  with  the  superstition  of  his  age. 

In  the  fifth  century  B.  C.  public  men  engaged  in  im- 
portant enterprises  were  accustomed  to  seek  knowledge 
concerning  future  events  by  the  art  of  divination. 
They  depended  in  military  affairs,  in  the  great  majority 
of  instances,  upon  revelations  made  through  the  agency 
of  soothsayers,  who  were  supposed  to  be  able  to  inter- 
pret signs  and  omens.  Their  armies  were  instructed  as 
to  their  movements  not  by  their  commander  who  em- 
ployed clever  tactics,  or  who  was  particularly  skilled 
in  military  training,  but  who  relied  on  the  diviner's 
art.  When  a  critical  situation  arose,  animal  victims 
were  sacrificed  to  the  gods,  to  whom  the  soothsayer 
appealed    for    divine   guidance.      From    the    signs    or 


II 


4i6 


MILITAET  ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


DEATH    OF    MARDONIUS 


417 


tokens  revealed  by  the  smoking  entrails  of  the  vic- 
tims, he  interpreted  the  answer  to  his  supplications. 
These  answers,  it  was  believed,  foretold  future  events. 
Thus,  as  at  Plataea,  the  movements  of  the  Greeks  were 
directed,  not  so  much  by  their  commander,  not  by  the 
skilled  soldier,  but  by  the  prophetic  seer. 

It  is  obvious,  also,  that  the  military  tactics  of  that 
period  were  exceedingly  primitive.  No  general  had,  as 
early  as  B.  C.  479,  conceived  the  idea  of  deploying 
troops  in  echelon.  Epaminondas,  it  is  said,  having 
been  the  first  to  devise  the  movement  which  was  resorted 
to  at  Leuctra.  Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Aristides,  refers 
to  the  engagement  at  Platfca,  and  observes  that  the 
Lacedaemonians  kept  "  together  in  the  order  of  a  pha- 
lanx "  and  in  the  final  struggle  forced  the  shields  from 
the  hands  of  the  Persians.  But  though  the  phalanx 
was  known  to  the  Egyptians  and  Persians,  and  was  re- 
sorted to  at  the  battle  of  Delium,  in  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  it  was  first  developed  to  a  high  degree  of  efficiency 
by  Epaminondas,  and  was  finally  perfected  by  Philip  of 
Macedon,  and  was  thereafter  designated  as  the  Mace- 
donian phalanx.  We  must  also  remember  that  Plutarch 
wrote  nearly  six  centuries  after  the  battle  of  Platsea, 
and  after  the  art  of  war  had  developed  to  a  point  of 
efficiency,  which  was  wholly  unknown  to  military  men  in 
the  time  of  Herodotus. 

Pausanias,  standing  with  his  hands  outstretched  in 
supplication,  gazing  toward  the  temple  of  Juno,  his 
troops  falling  about  him  under  the  severe  assault  of  the 
Persian  archers,  presented  a  remarkable  spectacle.  But 
Plataea  saw  another  sight.  It  has  been  observed  that 
the  Tegeans,  unable  longer  to  withstand  the  fierce  as- 
saults of  the  enemy,  charged  their  lines  without  wait- 
ing for  the  prophetic  utterance  of  the  soothsayer.  But 
we  are  told  as  soon  as  the  Tegeans  attacked,  the  victims 
became  favorable,  and  victory  was  predicted.  Then 
Pausftnias  ordered  the  Peloponnesians  to  charge.     The 


carnage  was  terrible.  The  Persians  withstood  them 
laying  aside  their  bows.  Herodotus,  the  only  contem- 
poraneous authority,  gives  this  interesting  description 
of  the  engagement  (ix,  62  et  seq.)  using  Gary's  trans- 
lation. 

"  First  of  all  a  battle  took  place  about  the  fence  of 
bucklers ;  and  when  that  was  thrown  down,  an  obstinate 
fight  ensued  near  the  temple  of  Denieter  (Ceres)  and 
for  a  long  time,  till  at  last  they  came  to  close  conflict, 
for  the  barbarians,  laying  liold  of  the  enemy's  spears 
broke  them.  Indeed,  in  strength  and  courage,  the  Per- 
sians were  not  inferior,  but  they  were  lightly  armed; 
and  were  moreover  ignorant  of  military  discipline,  and 
not  equal  to  their  adversaries  in  skill ;  but  rushing  for- 
ward singly,  or  in  tens,  or  more  or  fewer  in  a  body, 
they  fell  upon  the  Spartans  and  perished.  In  that  part 
where  Mardonius  happened  to  be,  fighting  from  a  white 
horse,  at  the  head  of  a  thousand  chosen  men,  the  best 
of  the  Persians,  there  they  pressed  their  adversaries 
vigorously.  As  long  as  Mardonius  survived  they  held 
out,  and,  defending  themselves  overthrew  many  of  the 
Lacedaemonians.  But  when  Mardonius  fell,  and  the 
troops  stationed  round  him,  which  were  the  strongest 
had  fallen,  then  the  others  fled,  and  gave  way  before 
the  Lacedo&monians.  .  .  .  Although  the  rest  of  the 
Greeks  in  the  army  of  Mardonius  behaved  ill  on  pur- 
pose, the  Boeotians  fought  with  the  Athenians  for  a 
considerable  time.  For  those  Thebans  who  sided  with 
the  Medes  displayed  no  little  zeal,  so  that  three  hun- 
dred of  the  most  valiant  among  them  fell  by  the  hands 
of  the  Athenians.  ...  At  last  the  Boeotians  too  were 
routed  and  fled  to  Thebes." 

Artabazus  was  never  in  sympathy  with  the  schemes  of 
Mardonius ;  he  had  under  his  command  forty  thousand 
men.  After  Mardonius  had  advanced  across  the 
Asopus,  and  brought  on  a  general  engagement,  Arta- 
bazus drew  up  his  divisions  in  order.    After  a  time  he 


ii  ] 

!l 


4i8 


MILITAKY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


JEALOUSY    AMONG    THE    COMMANDEES 


419 


led  out  his  forces  towards  the  Asopus,  as  if  he  intended 
to  cross  the  river  and  join  in  the  engagement,  but  be- 
ing in  advance  of  his  troops,  when  he  saw  the  Persians 
scattered  and  broken,  flying  towards  Thebes,  he  rode 
back  along  his  lines  and  gave  orders  to  retreat,  not 
towards  Thebes,  but  towards  Phocis,  his  object  being 
to  get  out  of  Greece  as  quickly  as  possible  and  reach 
the  Hellespont  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  That 
part  of  the  Greek  army  which  formed  the  centre,  which 
fled  to  the  Island,  and  were  drawn  up  close  to  the  temple 
of  Here  (Juno)  in  front  of  the  City  of  Plat^a,  when 
they  learned  that  Pausanias  was  gaining  the  victory, 
took  up  their  arms  and  pressed  forward  without  any 
order,  and  taking  the  upper  road  across  the  hills  and 
skirts  of  Citha?ron,  marched  straight  towards  the  temple 
of  Demeter  (Ceres).  The  Megarians  and  Phllasians 
followed  over  the  road  on  the  plain  at  the  foot  of  the 
ridges.  The  latter,  not  having  advanced  in  compact 
order,  were  attacked  by  a  body  of  Theban  cavalry,  who 
killed  six  hundred  of  them.  The  others,  in  order  to 
evade  the  Thebans,  retreated  into  the  Cith«ron  moun- 
tains. 

The  barbarians  and  their  allies  fled  across  the 
Asopus,  and  took  refuge  in  the  wooden  fortress,  which 
Mardonius  had  erected  between  the  City  of  Thebes  and 
that  river.  They  succeeded  in  ascending  into  the 
towers  before  the  Lacedaemonians  came  up.  On  the  ar- 
rival of  the  pursuers,  a  sharp  conflict  took  place.  But 
the  Spartans  were  not  skilled  in  attack  upon  fortified 
places,  but  when  the  Athenians  came  up,  after  a  hard 
fight,  a  breach  was  made  in  the  stockade  and  the  Greeks 
led  by  the  Tegeans  poured  into  the  enclosure.  The  for- 
tified camp  which  Mardonius  had  constructed  then  be- 
came a  chamel  house,  in  which  thousands  of  the  bar- 
barians and  their  allies  perished.  It  is  said  that,  ex- 
cluding the  contingent  of  forty  thousand  men  led  into 
Phocis  by  Artabazus,  the  entire  Persian  army  and  its 


allies  were  all  slain,  except  about  3,000.  This  scanty 
remnant  alone  survived  the  battle. 

The  list  of  casualites  among  the  Greeks  was  com- 
paratively small.  Of  Spartans  there  perished  ninety- 
one;  of  Tegeans,  sixteen;  of  Athenians,  fifty-two. 
Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Aristides,  says  that  of  the  Greeks 
there  perished  in  all  thirteen  hundred  and  sixty;  and 
that  the  fifty-two  Athenians  who  fell,  all  were  of  the 
tribe  of  Mantis.  This  apparent  discrepancy  between 
these  two  authors  may  be  reconciled,  if  we  assume  that 
Plutarch  included,  in  his  estimate,  the  six  hundred  Me- 
garians and  Phliasians,  who  had  fallen  in  the  attack 
made  upon  them  by  the  Boeotian  cavalry,  and  that  the 
remainder  of  those  who  fell  in  order  to  make  up  the 
total  of  thirteen  hundred  and  sixty,  included  Helots  who 
accompanied  the  Spartans. 

The  operations  of  the  Persian  army  in  Boeotia  oc- 
cupied about  twelve  days.  The  result  was  the  death  of 
Mardonius,  who  was  slain  by  a  Spartan  named  Arimnes- 
tus,  by  a  blow  on  the  head  with  a  stone  as  had  been  fore- 
told by  the  oracle,  and  the  practical  annihilation  of  his 
army,  with  the  exception  of  the  contingent  of  forty 
thousand  men,  under  Artabazus,  who  were  not  engaged 
at  all.  Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Plataja,  which  rendered 
impossible  for  all  time  the  extension  of  the  empire  of 
Cyrus  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 

Scarcely  had  the  Greeks  achieved  their  victory  over 
the  Medes  when,  according  to  the  account  given  by 
Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Aristides,  a  violent  quarrel  arose, 
as  to  whom,  as  between  the  Lacedaemonians  and  Athe- 
nians, the  first  honors  of  right  belonged,  and  who  was 
entitled  to  erect  the  trophy  to  commemorate  their  tri- 
umph. Both  nations  claimed  it.  By  reason  of  this 
dissension  ruin  was  impending.  The  weakness  arising 
from  diversity,  and  the  strength  presented  by  unity 
and  concord  was  never  more  apparent  than  on  this 
occasion.     The  violence  of  the  quarrel  might  have  re- 


420 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


suited  seriously  had  not  the  patriotism  and  constancy 
of  Aristides  saved  his  countrymen  from  themselves. 
He  counselled  the  commanders,  and  pacified  and  finally 
persuaded  them  to  leave  the  matter  in  dispute  to  be 
decided  by  a  vote.  One  member  of  the  council  said  the 
honor  would  have  to  be  accorded  to  some  city  other 
than  Sparta  or  Athens,  if  civil  war  was  to  be  averted. 
The  Solomon  of  the  occasion  happened  to  be  Cleocritus, 
the  Corinthian.  When  he  arose  to  speak,  all  supposed 
he  was  going  to  ask  for  the  honor  on  behalf  of  Corinth. 
But  he  won  the  applause  of  his  hearers  when  he  ad- 
vised that  in  order  to  eliminate  all  contention  and  bit- 
terness, they  should  give  the  reward  and  glory  of  the 
victory  to  the  Plata^ans,  at  whose  gates  the  victory  was 
won,  because  such  a  selection  could  give  offense  to  none. 
His  suggestion  was  heartily  seconded  by  Aristides  on 
behalf  of  the  Athenians,  and  then  Pausanias  voted  aye 
on  behalf  of  the  Lacedaemonians.  So  the  breach  was 
healed,  and  all  were  reconciled ;  but  the  Lacedaemonians 
and  Athenians  each  erected  a  trophy  apart  to  them- 
selves. 

When  the  Greeks  had  broken  into  the  fortified  camp 
on  the  banks  of  the  Asopus,  where  the  enemy  had  taken 
refuge,  the  Tegeans  fell  upon  the  gorgeous  tent  or 
pavilion  of  Mardonius  which  they  plundered.  There 
was  collected,  also,  when  the  battle  was  over,  an  im- 
mense amount  of  valuable  booty  including  vast  quan- 
tities of  gold  and  silver  coin  and  plate  and  tents  decked 
with  gold  and  silver,  gilt  couches  and  plated  and  golden 
bowls,  and  caldrons  of  gold  and  silver,  and  golden  gob- 
lets and  drinking  vessels.  The  bodies  of  the  slain  were 
stripped  of  bracelets  and  necklaces  of  gold  and  of  gar- 
ments, encrusted  and  embroidered  with  gold,  and  num- 
bers of  scymetars,  adorned  with  gold  and  precious 
stones.  Xerxes,  also,  when  he  undertook  his  expedition 
for  the  conquest  of  Greece,  sought  to  mitigate  the  hard- 
ships and  rigors  of  a  military  campaign,  by  surround- 


P££SIAN   SPOILS 


421 


ing  himself  as  far  as  practicable,  with  the  elegance  and 
luxuries  of  a  Persian  court.  He,  as  well  as  his  nobles 
and  commanders,  were  accompanied  by  their  favorite 
women  in  charge  of  the  eunuchs  collected  in  their 
harems.  They  were  also  surrounded  by  numberless 
slaves  and  servants,  and  had  horses  and  camels  and 
beasts  of  burden  in  abundance.  Mardonius  and  his 
chosen  officers,  after  Xerxes  had  returned  to  Susa,  re- 
tained their  luxurious  harems,  and  their  slaves  and  these 
formed  part  of  the  spoils  of  war  which  fell  to  the  more 
frugal  and  abstemious  Greeks,  who  seem  to  have  been 
wholly  unacquainted  with  these  elegant  surroundings, 
characteristic  of  oriental  luxury. 

The  Helots  were  directed  to  collect  the  spoil.  They 
stole  what  articles  they  were  able  to  conceal  about  their 
persons,  which  they  afterwards  sold  to  the  ^ginetae, 
as  if  it  had  been  brass.  When  all  the  treasure  had  been 
collected,  a  tithe  was  set  apart  for  the  Olympian  Zeus 
(Jupiter)  ;  a  tithe  to  the  Isthmian  Poseidon  (Neptune) 
and  a  tithe  to  the  Delphian  Apollo.  One-tenth  of  the 
spoils  was  awarded  to  Pausanias  and  the  remainder,  in- 
cluding the  balance  of  the  Persian  concubines  and  slaves, 
the  horses  and  camels  and  beasts  of  burden,  were  appor- 
tioned among  the  victors.  Pausanias  was  delighted 
with  the  elegant  equipage,  golden  furnishings  and  vari- 
ous colored  hangings  of  the  Persians.  He  ordered  the 
bakers  and  cooks  of  the  household  of  Mardonius  to  pre- 
pare a  supper,  exactly  as  they  would  prepare  it  for  their 
master,  and  was  astonished  at  the  profusion  set  before 
him.  He  then,  in  order  to  emphasize  the  contrast,  di- 
rected to  be  prepared  the  simple  frugal  repast,  to  which 
the  Laconians  were  accustomed.  He  then  gathered  his 
officers  about  him  to  note  the  great  difference  and  re- 
marked, "  Men  of  Greece,  I  have  called  you  together  to 
show  you  the  folly  of  the  commander  of  the  Medes,  who 
having  such  fare  as  this,  has  come  to  us,  who  have  such 
poor  fare,  to  take  it  from  us.' 


9> 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


Among  the  spoils  dedicated  to  Apollo  was  the  golden 
bowl  taken  from  the  tent  of  Mardonius.  This  was 
placed  upon  a  golden  tripod  placed  upon  a  column  of 
three  brazen  serpents,  twisted  round  each  other,  their 
heads  with  gaping  mouths  supporting  the  golden  bowl. 
This  trophy  was  deposited  in  the  temple  of  Delphi,  and 
is  known  to  posterity  as  the  serpent  of  Delphi.  Upon 
it  Pausanias,  upon  his  own  authority,  and  without  con- 
sulting with  any  one,  placed  this  inscription : 

Pausanias,  Greoia's  chief,  the  Mede  overthrew 
And  gave  Apollo  that  which  here  ye  view. 


The  pride,  vanity,  arrogance  and  treachery  of  Pau- 
sanias subsequently  proved  his  ruin.  The  Lacedaemo- 
nians at  once  caused  the  inscription  to  be  erased,  and 
upon  the  coils  of  the  serpent  of  brass  was  inscribed  in 
archaic  Greek  characters  the  names  of  the  cities  and 
states  or  nations  who  fought  at  the  battle  of  Plataea. 

The  ancient  relic,  one  of  the  most  precious  remains 
of  antiquity,  has  been  preserved  through  more  than 
twenty-three  centuries.  During  the  second  Sacred  War 
waged  by  Philip  of  Macedon,  the  golden  tripod  was  con- 
fiscated by  the  Phocians,  but  the  bronze  stand  remained 
in  the  temple  of  Delphi  for  centuries.  The  modern  Pau- 
sanias, traveller,  archaeologist,  geographer  and  critic, 
who  flourished  about  160  A.  D.  visited  Delphi,  nearly 
seven  hundred  years  after  the  battle  of  Plataea.  He  saw 
the  serpent  and  wrote  an  account  describing  it.  About 
a  century  and  a  half  after  the  time  of  the  modem  Pau- 
sanias, Constantine  the  Great,  early  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury of  our  era,  took  the  serpent  from  the  temple  of 
Delphi  and  placed  it  in  the  Hippodrome  at  Constanti- 
nople, where  it  still  remains,  a  venerable  relic  of  the 
past,  and  a  memorial  to  the  valor  of  the  Greeks  who 
fought  at  Platasa.  The  column  of  twisted  serpents  is 
bereft  of  the  heads  having  been  injured  by  the  Turk, 


THE  SERPENT  OF  DELPHI 


423 


Mahomet  the  Second,  who  with  a  stroke  of  his  battle- 
axe,  broke  the  under  jaw  of  one  of  the  serpents.  The 
remnant  of  the  stand  on  which  the  tripod  and  golden 
bowl  of  Mardonius  rested  is  eighteen  feet  nine  inches 
high,  and  is  believed  by  scholars  and  archaeologists,  and 
among  them  Canon  Rawlinson,  to  be  the  veritable  stand 
of  the  original  tripod.  Professor  Rawlinson  says  that 
"  chemical  solvents  have  been  skilfully  applied,  and  the 
characters  now  appear  to  have  been  well  and  deeply  cut, 
the  orthography  has  proved  to  be  regular;  and  the 
form  of  the  pedestal  is  recognized  as  stately  and  appro- 
priate." Upon  it  also  is  found  traces  of  the  erasure 
of  the  elegiac  couplet,  which  Pausanias  caused  to  be 
inscribed  upon  it,  without  authority  from  any  one,  as 
stated  by  Thucydides  (i,  132). 

After  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  engagement  had 
been  buried  with  appropriate  honors,  a  council  of  war 
was  held,  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done  with  the  leading 
citizens  of  Thebebs,  who  had  joined  the  Medes,  given 
aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy,  and  fought  with  bar- 
barians against  their  own  countrymen.  It  was  resolved 
to  march  at  once  to  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  demand 
that  the  two  conspicuous  traitors,  whose  names  were  well 
known,  should  be  surrendered  into  their  hands.  The 
army  marched  to  the  gates  of  Thebes,  and  demanded  the 
two  men  Timagenides  and  Attaginus.  The  demand  was 
refused,  and  the  army  of  liberation  began  to  besiege 
the  rebellious  city.  They  laid  waste  the  surrounding 
territory  and  vigorously  attacked  the  walls  for  a  period 
of  twenty  days  when  at  the  request  of  Timagenides  him- 
self, the  Thebans  agreed  to  surrender  the  men,  but  At- 
taginus made  his  escape.  When  his  sons  were  surren- 
dered in  his  stead  Pausanias  refused  to  hold  them,  say- 
ing, the  children  had  no  part  in  the  offense.  Other 
offenders  were,  however,  surrendered,  all  of  whom  were 
taken  to  Corinth  and  executed  without  trial. 

Artabazus,    in    fear,    pursued   his    retreat    through 


4^4 


MIUTASY  ANNALS   OF   GREECE 


Phocis  and  Thessaly.  He  was  afraid  that  if  the  inhab- 
itants learned  that  Mardonius  had  been  killed  and  his 
army  defeated,  they  themselves  might  be  surprised,  at- 
tacked and  cut  to  pieces.  Artabazus,  therefore,  told  the 
Thessalians  that  he  was  sent  into  Thrace  with  all 
despatch  on  important  business;  that  Mardonius  and 
his  army  were  close  behind  and  might  be  looked  for 
shortly.  Artabazus  succeeded  in  reaching  Byzantium, 
but  a  great  part  of  his  army  perished  on  the  road, 
many  being  cut  to  pieces  by  the  Thracians,  others  dying 
from  hunger  and  excess  of  toil. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  Greeks  gained  their  great 
victory  at  Plat«a,  their  countrymen,  who  sailed  from 
Delos  in  the  fleet  commanded  by  Leotychides  and 
Xanthippus,  the  father  of  the  illustrious  Pericles,  ob- 
tained a  decisive  victory  over  the  Persians  at  Mycale  in 
Ionia.  This  campaign  in  Asia  Minor  wiU  now  be  con- 
sidered. 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

WARS    FOR    PERSIAN   EXPULSION 

MYCALE  —  Mik-a-le  —  [Myifa\i7].  A  headland  in  Ionia,  on  the 
coast  of  Asia  Minor,  stretching  westward  into  the  ^Egean  Sea, 
separated  from  the  island  of  Samos  by  a  narrow  channel  less  than 
a  mile  wide.  It  is  at  the  base  of  Mount  Mycale,  the  last  peak  of 
the  Messogis  range  extending  from  Lydia  to  the  extremity  of  the 
peninsula,  which  terminates  in  the  promontory  or  headland  of 
Trogylium.  Miletus,  on  the  north  shore  of  the  peninsula,  is  fif- 
teen miles  southeast.  In  the  channel  which  separates  Samos  from 
the  mainland  and  on  the  shore  of  the  continent,  the  Persians  were 
defeated,  on  the  22d  of  September  B.  C.  479,  the  same  day  that 
Mardonius  was  killed  and  his  army  defeated  at  Plataea. 


jLATiEA  and  Mycale.  Both  fought  on  the 
same  day.  Both  contests  were  waged  by 
Greeks  against  Persians,  and  in  both  the 
Greeks  were  victorious.  At  Plataea  was  se- 
cured the  liberty  and  independence  of  Eu- 
ropean Hellas.  At  Mycale  the  Ionian  Greeks  were  de- 
livered from  the  gauling  tyranny  of  Persian  despotism. 
At  Plataea,  the  death  of  Leonidas  was  avenged.  At 
Mycale  the  murderous  raids,  conducted  by  Artabazus 
against  the  Greek  colonies  of  Potidaea  and  Olynthus, 
were  likewise  avenged.  At  Plataea  the  wars  of  liberation 
were  ended,  and  the  remnants  of  the  invading  army  of 
Xerxes  driven  from  the  soil  of  Hellas.  At  Mycale  was 
begun  the  wars  of  expulsion,  designed  to  drive  the  Per- 
sians from  the  western  shores  of  Asia  Minor,  from 
Thrace  and  the  northern  and  eastern  islands  of  the 
-^gean  sea.  On  the  day  when  these  two  engagements 
took  place,  Greece  entered  upon  a  new  career.  Her 
arms  had  driven  the  invader  from  her  shores,  and  had 

425 


426 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GttEECE 


GEEEK    FLEET   AT    BELOS 


427 


||ii 


begun  also  a  series  of  campaigns  to  drive  the  hosts  of 
Persia  from  Europe  and  Asia  Minor.  At  Mycale  was 
laid  the  first  stone  in  the  foundation  on  which  was  con- 
structed the  supremacy  of  Greece  and  the  future  glory 
of  the  Athenian  empire. 

These  two  battles,  fought  September  22,  B.  C.  479, 
one  on  the  plains  of  BoBotia,  near  the  base  of  the  Cithae- 
ron  Mountains,  the  other  on  the  headland  in  Ionia,  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Mycale,  constitute  the  final  Persian 
disasters  in  the  third  and  last  expedition  for  the  inva- 
sion of  Greece.  The  first  expedition  fitted  out  by  Darius 
was  wrecked  on  the  rocks  of  Mount  Athos  B.  C.  492. 
The  second  was  shattered  on  the  plain  of  Marathon, 
B.  C.  490.  The  third  and  most  formidable  of  all,  under 
Xerxes,  was  defeated  at  Salamis,  B.  C.  480.  This  was 
supplemented,  B.  C.  479,  by  the  dual  victory  of  the 
Greeks  at  Plataea  and  Mycale.  This  double  defeat  of  the 
barbarians  not  only  extinguished  the  hopes  and  ambi- 
tions of  Xerxes  to  extend  the  sceptre  of  Cyrus  and 
Darius  in  the  west,  but  destroyed  his  power  over  his 
Greek  subjects  in  Asia  Minor.  The  final  effort  of  Per- 
sia to  enslave  Hellas  and  to  retain  its  supremacy  in  the 
-^gean,  later  met  disaster  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eurym- 
edon  on  the  coast  of  Pamphylia,  B.  C.  466,  where 
Cimon,  the  son  of  the  great  Miltiades,  completed  in 
Asia  Minor,  the  work  which  his  illustrious  father  begun 
at  Marathon. 

When  Xerxes  fled  to  Asia,  after  his  overwhelming 
defeat  in  the  naval  engagement  af  Salamis,  his  son-in- 
law,  Mardonius,  the  ablest  man  in  his  empire,  could  not 
endure  the  spectacle  of  the  most  formidable  army  ever 
collected,  retreating  from  Europe,  without  having  en- 
gaged the  enemy,  except  at  Thermopylfe,  where  a  few 
hundred  men  led  by  Leonidas  were  massacred.  He  pre- 
vailed upon  Xerxes  to  permit  him  to  retain  a  part  of 
the  army  in  Thessaly,  in  order  that  as  soon  as  the  spring 
opened  he  could  advance  into  Attica,  and  defeat  the 


Hellenes,  conquer  Greece  in  a  land  engagement  and  re- 
trieve the  name  and  glory  of  Persia.  The  Persian  fleet, 
however,  sailed  across  the  -^gean,  and  was  stationed  by 
Xerxes  in  Ionia,  to  guard  the  island  of  Samos  and  other 
Greek  islands  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor  and  prevent 
them  from  throwing  off  the  Persian  yoke  and  achieving 
their  independence. 

The  Grecian  fleet,  during  the  winter  B.  C.  480-479, 
collected  at  the  island  ^Egina  in  the  Saronic  Gulf.  The 
Greek  colonists  in  Asia  Minor  were  anxious  to  revolt 
and  gain  their  independence.  To  aid  in  this  design 
they  secretly  sent  ambassadors  to  Sparta  and  to  the 
Greek  fleet  at  ^gina,  commanded  by  Xanthippus,  the 
Athenian,  and  Leotychides,  the  Spartan,  who  claimed 
direct  lineal  descent  from  Hercules.  They  besought 
their  countrymen  to  sail  to  Samos,  in  order  to  assist  the 
Samians  and  other  Greek  colonists  to  gain  their  liberty 
and  independence,  assuring  them  that  as  soon  as  their 
fleet  came  to  Samos,  the  inhabitants  would  turn  against 
their  Persian  masters,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  Lace- 
daemonians and  Athenians,  they  would  be  able  to  over- 
throw the  power  of  Xerxes.  The  Greek  admirals,  how- 
ever, aware  that  Mardonius  was  in  Thessaly  with  a 
powerful  army,  with  which  he  contemplated  conducting 
military  operations  against  Attica  in  the  spring,  con- 
sented to  sail  only  as  far  as  the  island  of  Delos,  which 
lies  nearly  midway  between  Greece  and  Asia.  It  is  100 
miles  southeast  of  -^gina,  and  75  miles  southwest  of 
Samos.  Herodotus  says  the  Greeks  at  first  would  not 
sail  further  east  than  Delos,  and  that  the  Persians,  or 
barbarians,  durst  not  sail  further  west  than  Samos. 
Thus  the  winter  passed. 

While  the  Greek  fleet  was  at  Delos,  the  Samians  sent 
three  other  ambassadors  to  entreat  them  to  come  to 
their  relief.  By  a  strange  coincidence,  the  name  of  one 
of  these  ambassadors  was  Hegesistratus,  which  means 
"  leader  of  the  army,"  who  was  very  insistent,  and  as- 


ri 


428 


MILITAKY   ANIMALS    OF    6B££C£ 


MTCAIiE   AND    PI^ATAEA 


sured  Lecfty chides  that  the  moment  the  lonians  saw  the 
Greeks  they  would  revolt  from  the  Persians  and  that 
the  barbarians  could  not  withstand  them,  or  if  they  did, 
the  Greeks  would  not  find  booty  anywhere  half  so  rich. 
He  reminded  him  also  that  the  stake  for  which  they 
were  playing  was  not  Samos  alone,  but  the  Greek  islands 
in  Asia  Minor,  north  of  Caria,  and  the  cities  of  the 
Hellespont.  He  also  reported  that  the  Persian  ships 
sailed  badly,  and  were  not  fit  to  fight,  after  the  injuries 
inflicted  on  them  at  Salamis.  Finally,  Leotychides  said 
to  the  ambassador,  "  Friend,  what  is  your  name."  The 
answer  came  like  an  inspiration,  "  Hegesistratus " 
(leader  of  the  army).  "I  accept,"  said  Leotychides, 
regarding  the  name  as  an  omen  of  success  and  good 
fortune,  "  only  pledge  me  your  faith  that  the  Samians 
will  be  our  zealous  allies."  They  immediately  gave  the 
pledge,  and  made  oath  of  confederacy  with  the  Greeks. 
Sacrifices  were  offered,  the  auguries  were  favorable,  and 
the  Greek  fleet  sailed  east  from  Delos  with  all  speed 
to  Samos,  and  when  they  reached  the  island,  took  their 
station  near  a  landing  on  which  was  erected  a  temple 
to  Here  (Juno).  The  Persians,  at  the  approach  of  the 
Greeks,  fearing  a  repetition  of  the  disaster  at  Salamis, 
concluded  that  they  would  not  risk  a  naval  engagement 
but  would  fight  on  land.  They  permitted  the  Phoeni- 
cians to  sail  home,  and  then  sailed  to  the  headland 
of  Mycale,  on  the  continent,  and  put  themselves  under 
the  protection  of  the  land  forces  there,  an  army  of 
60,000  men  under  Triganes,  who  surpassed  all  the  Per- 
sians in  beauty  and  stature.  Under  the  protection  of 
this  army,  the  commanders  of  the  navy  beached  their 
ships  and  threw  up  a  rampart  of  stone  and  wood.  They 
cut  down  the  fruit-trees,  drove  sharp  stakes  around  the 
rampart  and  prepared  to  sustain  a  siege. 

The  Greeks,  when  they  learned  that  the  enemy  de- 
clined to  fight  at  sea,  and  had  gone  to  Mycale  to  join 
the  Persian  land  forces,   sailed  thither,     Leotychides 


429 


employed  the  tactics  used  at  Artemisium  by  Themis- 
tocles.  He  believed  that  the  Greek  allies  in  the  Persian 
camp  would  turn  against  their  oppressors,  when  assured 
of  the  support  of  their  countrymen.  He  accordingly 
sailed  as  close  as  possible  to  the  land,  and  then  made 
loud  proclamation  in  the  Greek  tongue,  which  the  Per- 
sians, Herodotus  tells  us,  could  not  understand.  "  Men 
of  Ionia,"  he  called  out  to  his  kinsmen  on  shore,  "  when 
we  engage  each  of  you  remember  first  of  all,  Liberty, 
and  next  the  watchword  Hebe,  and  let  him  who  does 
not  hear  this,  learn  it  from  those  who  do." 

The  Greeks  then  beached  their  vessels  and  formed  in 
line  of  battle  on  the  shore.  The  Persians  were  sus- 
picious of  the  Samians.  They  knew  that  a  warning  of 
some  kind  had  been  given  to  them  from  the  ships  of  the 
Greeks.  The  barbarians,  by  way  of  precaution,  dis- 
armed the  Samians.  The  troops  from  Miletus,  being 
originally  Greek  colonists,  could  not  be  trusted  at  this 
critical  juncture  any  more  than  the  Samians.  They 
were  sent  from  the  field  to  guard  the  mountain  passes, 
in  the  rear  of  the  army,  and  to  prevent  surprises  from 
that  quarter. 

The  Persians  were  then  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle 
and  brought  their  bucklers  together  to  serve  as  a  ram' 
part  and  prepared  to  receive  the  advancing  Greeks. 

The  tradition  of  the  battle  of  Mycale  has  preserved 
the  story  that  through  the  interposition  of  Heaven, 
in  some  mysterious  manner,  the  Greeks,  who  were  now 
advancing  on  the  Persians  in  the  afternoon  of  the  22d 
of  September,  learned  that  their  countrymen  had  ad- 
vanced against  them  at  Plataea  that  very  morning ;  that 
Mardonius  had  been  killed  and  his  broken  and  defeated 
army  was  even  then  flying  before  the  victorious  Greeks. 
This  was  the  rumor  they  heard,  as  they  advanced  to 
meet  the  enemy  on  the  headland  of  Mycale.  They  were 
told  that  a  herald's  staff  was  seen  lying  on  the  beach, 
through  which  this  mysterious  intelligence  had  been  in 


:1      ' 


jl 


) 


iftifi 


430 


MIUTABY   ANKAIiS    OF    6BEECE 


some  way  communicated.  The  rumor  sent  a  thrill  of 
triumph  through  the  ranks,  inspired  the  soldiers  with 
greater  courage,  and  made  them  eager  to  complete  at 
Mycale  in  Asia,  the  discomfiture  which  Persia  had  suf- 
fered in  Bceotia,  while  invading  Greece  across  the 
^gean,  more  than  two  hundred  miles  to  the  west. 

The  battle  was  stubborn  and  well  contested  for  a 
time,  but  the  barbarians  were  unable  to  withstand  the 
fierce  assaults  made  upon  them  by  the  Greeks.  Their 
fortifications  were  taken,  and  they  fled  in  disorder.  The 
native  Persians  fought  with  great  bravery,  and  were  the 
last  to  retreat.  Mardontes  and  Tigranes,  with  the 
pride  of  the  old  soldiers  of  Cyrus,  refused  to  quit  the 
field,  and  died  fighting.  The  Samians  revolted  in  the 
midst  of  the  battle,  and  did  all  they  could  to  aid  their 
countrymen,  doubtless  arming  themselves  with  weapons 
of  their  fallen  oppressors.  When  the  retreating  bar- 
barians attempted  to  escape,  the  Milesians,  whom  they 
had  posted  in  the  rear,  in  the  passes  and  defiles  of  Mount 
Mycale,  now  in  full  sympathy  with  their  kinsmen,  led 
the  Persians  into  false  trails  and  ambuscades,  and  finally 
fell  upon  them  and  massacred  the  barbarians,  while  they 
were  attempting  to  elude  their  pursuers.  After  the  bat- 
tle, the  Greeks  collected  great  quantities  of  booty  and 
secured  several  chests  of  money,  which  they  loaded  on 
their  vesesls,  and  having  burned  the  ships  and  fortifica- 
tions of  the  enemy,  sailed  away. 

The  direct  results  of  the  battle  of  Mycale  was  the 
formation  of  a  bund  or  coalition,  amon^  the  Greek 
islands  in  Asia  Minor,  Samos,  Chios  and  Lesbos,  who 
formed  a  Confederacy  to  stand  together,  and  main- 
tain  their  freedom  and  independence.  This  coalition 
was  the  beginning  of  the  greater  and  more  formidable 
alliance,  brought  about  by  Athens  after  the  capture  of 
Sestus  and  Byzantium,  known  as  the  Confederacy  of 
Delos, 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

CONQUEST  OF  THE   THRACIAN   CHERSONESE  — XER- 
XES THE  AHASUERUS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  ESTHER 
—  CRUELTY  OF  QUEEN  AMESTRIS(VASHTI) 
—  CRUCIFIXION  OF  THE  PERSIAN 
GOVERNOR  OF  SESTUS 

« 
SESTUS  —  Ses-tus  —  [Sijcttos].  A  port  on  the  Hellespont 
in  the  Thracian  Chersonese  (now  tlie  peninsula  of  Gallipolis), 
opposite  Abydos  in  Asia.  Sestus  derives  its  celebrity  from  song 
and  story.  It  was  the  home  of  Hero,  the  beautiful  priestess  of 
Aphrodite  (Venus),  the  lover  of  Leander  who  dwelt  in  Abydos, 
across  the  channel,  and  nightly  swam  the  Hellespont  to  woo  her. 
Leander,  the  glory  of  Abydos,  and  Hero,  the  charm  of  Sestus, 
have  been  called  the  Romeo  and  Juliet  of  antiquity.  Sestus  and 
Abydos  were  the  points  in  Europe  and  Asia  where  were  con- 
structed the  termini  of  the  bridge  of  Xerxes,  over  which  he 
crossed  with  his  immense  multitudes  on  his  expedition  against 
Athens.  Sestus  was  besieged  and  taken  by  Xanthippus,  the 
father  of  Pericles,  B.  C.  479  after  his  victory  at  Mycale. 

FTER  their  victory  at  Mycale,  Leotychldes 
and  Xanthippus  returned  to  Samos,  and  there 
received  the  ^olians,  Hellespontians  and 
lonians,  their  confederates  in  war.  A  con- 
ference was  held  with  these  allies  to  consider 
as  to  the  best  manner  in  which  to  take  advantage  of  their 
success.  It  was  at  the  urgent  solicitation  of  these  Asi- 
atic Greeks  that  their  kinsmen  in  Europe  were  prevailed 
upon  to  sail  from  Delos  to  Samos ;  where  off  Mount 
Mycale  they  destroyed  the  remnant  of  the  Persian  fleet 
which  had  escaped  from  Salamis. 

The  enthusiasm  inspired  by  that  victory  throughout 
the  Greek  cities  in  Ionia  was  instantaneous.  Their  pa- 
triotism was  stimulated.  They  pleaded  with  their  kins- 
men from  the  mother  country  to  make  the  fruits  of 

431 


a>ra^r>s-r) 


432 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


m 


their  success  permanent.  They  urged  the  formation  of 
a  confederacy  of  Asiatic  Greeks,  believing  that  if  their 
kinsmen  in  the  west  acted  in  ha^ony  with  them,  they 
would  be  enabled  to  secure  the  independence  they  en- 
joyed before  the  Ionian  War,  and  break  forever  the 
despotic  power  of  Persia,  which  reduced  them  to  bond- 
age. They  argued  that  by  their  united  efforts  the 
results  of  the  Ionian  War  could  be  reversed,  and  the 
advantages  gained  by  Darius  at  the  battle  of  Lade, 
and  the  conquest  of  Miletus  would  be  nullified. 

At  this  conference  the  mother  country  was  repre- 
sented only  by  its  two  principal  cities,  Athens  and 
Sparta.  These  city-states  had  always  dominated  the 
affairs  of  Greece.  They  had  fought  together  at  Artemi- 
sium  and  Salamis,  at  Plataea  and  Mycale.  These  vic- 
tories, except  the  last  named,  if  we  may  class  Artemisium 
as  a  victory,  had  been  won  in  Greece,  and  resulted  in  the 
expulsion  of  Persia  from  the  shores  of  Hellas.  Mycale 
was  won  on  the  continent  of  Asia,  and  resulted  in  the 
liberation  of  certain  of  the  Ionian  Greeks  from  the  Per- 
sian yoke.  The  wars  of  liberation  in  Greece  were  over. 
The  struggle  for  liberty  in  Asia  Minor  had  just  begun. 
The  wars  for  the  liberties  of  Greece  were  wars  of  ex- 
pulsion, whereby  the  Persians  were  driven  out.  The 
war  begun  at  Mycale  must  likewise  be  a  war  of  expul- 
sion. Persia  must  be  deprived  of  her  cities  and  fortified 
places  in  the  eastern  ^Egean,  in  iEolus,  Ionia  and 
Caria,  and  their  inhabitants  restored  to  their  political 
freedom,  and  permitted  to  again  enjoy  the  blessings  of 
peace  under  the  guarantees  of  civil  liberty.  The  despot- 
ism of  Persia  must  be  broken,  and  Grecian  autonomy 
must  be  re-established  if  the  fruits  of  Mycale  were  to  be 
made  permanent. 

When  and  how  was  this  result  to  be  accomplished? 
Sparta  and  Athens  must  decide.  On  this  occasion  was 
prominently  displayed  that  lack  of  harmony  and  spirit 
of  jealousy  between  these  two  cities,  which  continued  to 


SPAETAN    DISCONTENT 


433 


increase  as  the  breach  widened  between  them,  till  the 
friction  became  unbearable,  broke  up  the  unity  of  the 
Hellenic  nation,  and  finally  resulted  in  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  which  ruined  Greece. 

After  Mycale,  therefore,  the  question  was  how  to  pro- 
tect the  Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor  from  the  tyranny 
of  Persia.  Leotychides  did  not  favor  a  confederacy  of 
Ionian  cities  supported  by  a  European  Greek  navy. 
The  Spartans  were  not  enterprising.  They  were  par- 
simonious in  the  extreme  and  did  not  seem  to  be  desir- 
ous of  securing  the  commercial  advantages,  which  were 
sure  to  result  from  foreign  conquests.  Sparta  was  not 
a  commercial  city,  but  an  armed  camp.  The  state  con- 
sisted of  a  military  brotherhood,  rather  than  a  com- 
monwealth of  enterprising  citizens  seeking  to  increase 
their  prosperity  by  commercial  enterprises  and  to  se- 
cure thereby  the  luxury  and  refinements  which  come 
with  increasing  wealth  and  business  success. 

Sparta  suggested  that  the  Asiatic  Greeks  should  quit 
Ionia  and  ^Eolis  and  return  to  the  land  of  their  fore- 
fathers. They  argued  that  those  Greeks  in  Europe 
who  had  allied  themselves  with  Persia  should  be  ex- 
pelled to  make  room  for  the  Greeks  who  should  return 
to  the  land  of  their  ancestors.  They  urged  that  dis- 
loyal Greeks  should  no  longer  be  permitted  to  dwell  in 
Hellas.  They  should  be  attainted,  their  lands  and 
cities  forfeited  to  the  state,  and  conferred  upon  those 
Asiatic  Greeks,  who  should  return  to  the  country 
whence  came  their  ancestors. 

This  proposition  did  not  appeal  either  to  the  lonians 
or  to  the  Athenians.  The  idea  was  repugnant  to  their 
notions  of  dignity  and  propriety.  The  thought  that 
the  Greeks,  after  defeating  the  Persians,  both  at  home 
and  in  their  own  empire,  should  suddenly  abandon  their 
kinsmen  who  had  established  themselves  in  Asia  Minor, 
and  desert  their  cause,  was  altogether  distasteful  to 
Xanthippus.     Athens  was  an  enterprising  commercial 


434 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GEEECE 


XANTHIPPUS    BESIEGES    SESTUS 


435 


centre.  It  had  planted  numerous  colonies  about  the 
frontiers  of  civilization.  When  this  conference  was 
held  Athens  lay  in  ruins,  having  been  almost  entirely 
destroyed  by  Xerxes  and  Mardonius,  but  with  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Persian  arms  from  the  shores  of  Greece, 
the  patriotism  and  enthusiasm  of  the  Athenians,  led  by 
Themistocles  and  Aristides,  was  never  more  intense. 
Athens  must  at  once  be  rebuilt.  Her  colonies  must  be 
protected.  Her  commercial  greatness  must  be  ex- 
tended until  Athens  should  become  the  mistress  of  the 
^gean  and  the  most  powerful  city  in  the  world.  Such 
were  the  dreams  of  her  admirals  and  statesmen. 

Xanthippus  was  an  energetic  and  enterprising  com- 
mander and  appreciated  the  advantages  gained  at 
Mycale.  The  more  he  pondered  on  the  situation  the 
more  he  became  convinced  that  the  suggestions  of  Leo- 
tychides  would  be  offensive  to  the  Athenians.  The 
proposition  could  not  be  entertained.  To  take  the 
Asiatic  Greeks  away  from  the  land  where  their  ances- 
tors had  sustained  prosperous  cities  for  more  than  two 
centuries  would  be  humihating  in  the  extreme.  Xan- 
thippus accordingly  suggested  to  the  Spartan  admiral 
that  they  grant  the  request  of  the  Asiatic  Greeks,  and 
assist  them  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Persia.  Those 
from  the  Hellespont  who  had  attended  this  conference 
at  Samos,  especially  requested  that  the  united  fleet 
should  sail  thither,  and  drive  the  Persians  from  the 
Thracian  Chersonese,  and  take  Sestus  the  portal 
through  which  Xerxes  entered  Europe,  over  the  bridge 
he  had  constructed  from  Abydos. 

But  the  phlegmatic  temperament  of  the  Dorian  was 
too  dull  to  comprehend  the  great  advantages  to  be 
secured  by  continuing  the  campaign  in  Asia.  He  was, 
however,  curious  to  learn  whether  the  bridge  which 
Xerxes  built  remained  intact,  over  which  another  army 
might  be  led  into  Europe.  More  than  a  year  had 
elapsed  since  Xerxes  fled  with  his  fleet  and  army  from 


the  shores  of  Greece.  But  there  were  in  those  days  no 
means  of  swift  communication,  and  we  are  told,  the 
Greek  admirals  were  ignorant  as  to  whether  the  bridge 
across  the  Hellespont  had  been  kept  intact  by  the  Per- 
sian King.  Leotychides,  therefore,  consented  to  ac- 
company Xanthippus  to  the  Hellespont  that  he  might 
ascertain  and  report  the  facts  as  to  whether  this  bridge 
which  constituted  a  military  highway  from  Asia  to  Eu- 
rope still  remained  intact.  Stormy  weather  detained 
the  fleet  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hellespont  but  it  finally 
sailed  to  Abydos,  and  thence  across  the  channel,  imme- 
diately opposite  Sestus.  To  the  great  relief  of  Leo- 
tychides, he  learned  that  the  bridge  of  Xerxes  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  winds  and  tempests,  but  fragments 
of  the  huge  cables  of  which  it  was  in  part  constructed, 
were  still  to  be  seen  on  the  shore,  where  they  had  been 
carried  by  the  wind  and  tides.  He  secured  pieces  of 
these  cables  which  he  took  aboard  his  ship  to  carry  to 
Sparta  as  a  memento  of  the  memorable  campaign  of 
the  previous  year. 

Before  the  fleet  lay  Sestus,  a  most  important  point. 
Its  possession  and  occupation  by  the  Greeks  meant  the 
control  of  the  Thracian  Chersonese  and  the  Hellespont. 
Xanthippus  urged  Leotychides  to  tarry,  and  aid  him 
in  laying  siege  to  the  place.  He  pleaded  his  cause  in 
vain.  The  Peloponnesians  declined  to  take  part  in  this 
ambitious  and  patriotic  enterprise  for  the  glory  of 
Greece  and  humiliation  of  Persia,  and  the  Spartan 
sailed  home  with  his  fleet. 

The  Athenian,  however,  saw  the  great  advantages  of 
securing  the  control  of  the  Hellespont.  He  concluded 
with  the  aid  of  the  lonians,  Hellespontians  and  Asiatic 
Greeks  to  conduct  a  siege  for  the  capture  of  Sestus. 

Xerxes  was  at  Sardis  when  he  learned  of  the  death 
of  Mardonius  and  the  defeat  and  destruction  of  his 
army  at  Plata?a.  The  news  of  these  reverses  seemed  to 
mortify  his  pride,  and  extinguish  whatever  ambition  he 


I 


436 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


may  have  had  when  he  led  into  Europe  the  most  for- 
midable armament  the  world  had  ever  seen.  He  be- 
came apparently  indifferent  to  tlie  success  of  his  arms 
and  devoted  his  entire  time  to  the  gratification  of  his 
lusts  and  passions.  He  devoted  himself  to  the  erotic 
pleasures  of  his  court,  and  indulged  in  the  ribald  rev- 
elry which  characterized  his  drunken  feasts  in  order 
to  drown  the  memories  of  the  shame  and  humiliation  oc- 
casioned by  the  failure  of  his  expedition  to  Greece  and 
the  decisive  reverses  sustained  by  his  arms  in  Europe 
and  Asia. 

In  this  connection  Herodotus  relates  an  incident  in 
the  life  of  Xerxes  involving  his  illicit  relations  with  his 
own  kin.  It  was  an  amour  tinged  with  a  bloody  trag- 
edy resulting  in  the  death  of  his  brother  Masistes, 
one  of  the  Persian  officers  who  survived  the  battle  of 
Mycale.  It  exhibits  also  the  cruel  malignity  and  jeal- 
ous hate  of  Xerxes'  favorite  wife,  who  in  her  blind  fury, 
caused  the  wife  of  the  unfortunate  Masistes  to  be  hor- 
ribly mutilated  although  the  victim  of  her  vengeance 
was  absolutely  innocent,  and  entirely  free  from  blame 
in  the  matter.  The  story  is  interesting  because  it  gives 
us  an  opportunity  to  look  back  more  than  twenty-three 
centuries  into  the  past,  and  get  some  idea  of  the  abso- 
lute power  of  the  Persian  King  over  the  lives  of  all  of 
his  subjects,  including  those  who  frequented  his  court, 
formed  part  of  the  royal  household,  embracing  even  the 
members  of  his  own  family. 

It  presents  not  only  a  vivid  picture  of  the  degrading 
morals  of  that  age  and  the  horrors  of  an  eastern 
seraglio,  but  possesses  added  interest  from  the  fact  that 
many  scholars  believe  that  Xerxes  and  not  Darius  was 
the  Ahasuerus  of  the  Book  of  Esther,  and  that  the  cruel 
and  malignant  Amestris  was  Vashti,  his  favorite  queen, 
whom  he  subsequently  divorced.  The  story  finds  a 
parallel  in  the  dramatic  scene  in  the  life  of  Herod  the 
Great,  who  at  his  birthday  feast  granted  the  request 


INTRIGUES    or   XEEXES 


437. 


of  Herodias,  who  at  the  instigation  of  her  mother,  de- 
manded that  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist  be  delivered 
to  her  in  a  charger. 

The  incident  took  place  after  Xerxes  had  bestowed 
unusual  honors  upon  Xenagoras  and  made  him  satrap 
of  Cilicia,  because  he  had  saved  the  life  of  his  brother 
Masistes,  who  was  attacked  by  Artayntes,  whom  Ma- 
sistes had  upbraided  for  incompetency  at  the  battle  of 
Mycale. 

His  sister-in-law,  the  wife  of  his  brother  Masistes, 
resided  in  Sardis,  during  the  sojourn  of  Xerxes  in  that 
city  at  the  time  of  the  disaster  at  Mycale,  and  was  fre- 
quently invited  to  his  court.  The  King  conceived  a 
strong  passion  for  her,  and  pressed  his  attentions  un- 
ceasingly. She,  however,  gave  no  heed  to  the  many 
tender  messages  sent  to  her  by  the  King,  and  stead- 
fastly refused  to  yield  to  his  solicitations.  As  she  was 
the  wife  of  his  own  brother,  Xerxes  hesitated  to  use 
violence,  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  Instead,  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  causing  his  own  son  by  his  queen 
Amestris  to  marry  his  niece,  Artaynta,  the  daughter  of 
the  wife  of  Masistes.  After  the  usual  ceremonies  of  the 
betrothal,  Xerxes,  unmindful  of  the  military  operations 
which  threatened  his  dominions  in  Ionia,  took  his  de- 
parture for  Susa.  At  the  royal  palace  in  his  winter 
capital  he  received,  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony,  the 
bride  of  his  son,  the  daughter  of  his  brother's  wife, 
with  whom  he  was  enamored.  But  at  Susa  a  change 
came  over  him.  He  seemed  to  lose  his  admiration  for 
the  wife  of  Masistes,  but  conceived  a  passion  for  his 
son's  bride,  to  whom  he  transferred  his  affections. 
Artaynta  carried  away  by  the  arts  and  flatteries  of 
Xerxes  yielded  to  his  desires  and  solicitations.  Ames- 
tris, it  seems,  was  desperately  in  love  with  her  husband, 
and  gave  him  a  costly  robe  of  many  colors,  which  she 
had  wrought  with  her  own  hands,  like  the  coat  that 
Jacob  gave  to  his  son  Joseph,  as  a  token  of  his  love. 


438 


MIUTABY   ANKALS    OF    GEEECE 


The  King  was  much  pleased  with  the  robe,  the  gift  of 
his  favorite  wife,  and  wore  it  frequently.  On  one  oc- 
casion, he  put  it  on,  when  he  went  to  visit  his  daughter- 
in-law  Artaynta.  He  was  so  pleased  with  his  visit  to 
her  on  that  occasion  that  he  requested  Artaynta  to 
make  any  request  she  pleased  and  swore  that  whatever 
it  might  be  it  would  be  granted.  To  his  great  surprise 
the  girl  asked  him  for  the  robe  he  wore,  the  costly  gar- 
ment his  wife  had  woven  with  her  own  fingers.  In  vain 
Xerxes  besought  her  to  substitute  for  the  robe  what- 
ever she  wished,  —  cities,  heaps  of  gold,  an  army  which 
would  obey  no  other  commander.  Though  his  power 
was  absolute  he  seemed  to  dread  the  consequences  of 
complying  with  her  request.  Amestris  would  surely  de- 
tect his  secret  love  for  his  daughter-in-law,  which  she 
already  suspected.  But  Artaynta  was  steadfast  and 
at  last  he  reluctantly  gave  her  the  robe.  She  was  very 
proud  of  the  gift  and  often  wore  it.  It  was  not  long 
until  the  whole  story  came  to  the  ears  of  Amestris. 

The  queen,  strange  to  say,  harbored  no  resentment 
against  Artaynta,  but  determined  to  torture  and  kill  her 
mother,  the  wife  of  the  King's  brother,  for  somehow  she 
conceived  the  idea  that  the  mother  alone  was  the  author 
of  the  intrigue  with  her  husband.  She  waited  till  the 
annual  banquet  which  Xerxes  was  accustomed  to  cele- 
brate on  his  birthday.  On  that  day  the  King  made  a 
great  feast,  to  his  lords  high  captains,  chief  officers  and 
courtiers.  It  was  an  occasion  worthy  the  powerful 
head  of  a  great  empire.  The  halls  of  the  palace  shone 
with  the  riches  of  his  vast  kingdom  where  were  "  white, 
green  and  blue  hangings,  fastened  with  cords  of  fine 
linen  and  purple  to  silver  rings  and  pillars  of  marble; 
the  beds  were  of  gold  and  silver,  upon  a  pavement  of 
red,  and  blue  and  white  and  black  marble."  ^     Thus  the 


*Book  of  Esther,  i,  6.    The  hetter  opinion  seems  to  be  that 
Artaxerxes,  son  of  Xerres,  was  the  Ahasuerus  of  Esther. 


CRUELTY    OF   AMESTEIS 


439 


feast  of  Ahasuerus  is  described  in  the  Book  of  Esther. 
The  wine  was  served  in  goblets  of  gold,  the  vessels  be- 
ing highly  wrought  and  of  diverse  designs  and  pat- 
terns. On  this  great  feast-day,  but  at  no  other  time, 
the  King  soaps  his  head  and  delivers  gifts  to  the  Per- 
sians ;  for  the  law  governing  the  feast  declares  that  no 
one  who  craves  a  boon  at  the  King's  table  on  that  day 
shall  be  denied  his  request. 

Taking  advantage  of  her  opportunity  his  queen 
Amestris  asked  Xerxes  to  grant  the  boon  she  craved 
and  said  if  he  desired  to  please  her  he  would  bestow 
upon  her  as  a  gift  the  wife  of  his  own  brother  Masistes 
to  deal  with  as  she  chose.  For  a  long  time  Xerxes  re- 
fused to  listen  to  this  shocking  and  monstrous  pro- 
posal, which  required  that  he  should  put  the  life  and 
happiness  of  his  sister-in-law  at  the  disposal  of  his 
queen.  But  the  law  of  the  feast  was  allowed  to  prevail. 
The  King  yielded  and  gave  the  unfortunate  woman 
into  the  power  of  Amestris. 

Xerxes  then  sent  for  his  brother  and  bade  him  put 
away  his  wife  and  marry  his  niece,  a  daughter  of 
Xerxes,  whom  he  offered  to  give  to  him,  instead  of  his 
present  spouse.  Masistes  told  his  brother  that  it  was 
indeed  a  great  honor  to  be  permitted  to  marry  a 
daughter  of  the  King.  But  he  said  he  dearly  loved  his 
wife,  who  had  borne  him  children  to  whom  he  was  deeply 
attached.  He  begged  Xerxes  not  to  use  force  to  com- 
pel him  to  obey  his  wishes,  but  pleaded  to  be  per- 
mitted to  live  with  his  wife.  In  a  rage  Xerxes  said 
that  Masistes  should  neither  marry  his  daughter  nor 
live  with  his  wife.  Masistes,  In  great  distress,  went  out 
from  the  presence  of  the  King,  saying,  "  Master,  thou 
hast  not  yet  taken  my  life."  ^ 

During  this  interview  between  Xerxes  and  his 
brother,  Amestris  sent  for  the  spearmen  of  the  royal 

'  Herod,  ix,  3. 


:.tl 


•■ 


440 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


body-guard  and  commanded  them  to  seize  the  wife  of 
Masistes,  and  wound  and  lacerate  her  beyond  recog- 
nition. The  spearmen  did  as  their  queen  had  directed 
and  at  once  proceeded  with  the  butchery.  They  cut  off 
her  two  breasts,  her  nose,  ears  and  lips  and  cast  them 
to  the  dogs.  In  order  that  she  might  never  be  able 
again  to  speak  to  her  husband  or  children,  they  tore 
out  her  tongue  by  the  roots,  and  thus  bleeding  and  dis- 
figured they  sent  her  to  her  home. 

Such  were  the  morals  and  manners  of  the  Persian 
court  in  the  age  of  Xerxes. 

When  Masistes  reached  his  house  and  saw  the  mu- 
tilated and  ruined  body  of  his  wife,  he  took  counsel 
with  his  children.  He  decided  to  make  war  on  his 
brother.  With  his  sons  and  a  body  of  adherents  he 
set  out  for  Bactria,  a  people  by  whom  he  was  greatly 
beloved,  intending  to  stir  up  an  insurrection  in  that 
country.  But  his  plans  having  been  betrayed,  he  was 
murdered  by  the  King's  emissaries,  before  he  reached 
his  destination.  Thus  Masistes  failed  in  his  purpose 
to  visit  condign  punishment  on  the  cowardly  wicked  and 
cruel  Xerxes. 

If  this  story  of  Masistes  is  correct,  Xerxes  was  not 
at  Sardis  but  at  Susa  when  the  Greek  fleet  sailed  to 
the  Hellespont  and  laid  sieffe  to  Sestus. 

The  purpose  of  Xanthippus  and  his  allies  from 
Ionia  and  the  Hellespont,  after  Leotychides  had  sailed 
away  and  abandoned  the  further  prosecution  of  the 
campaign,  was  to  take  Sestus.  It  was  the  most  im- 
portant city  on  the  Thracian  Chersonese.  That  pen- 
insula at  the  eastern  extremity  of  Europe  runs  three 
days'  journey,  about  sixty  miles  into  the  sea,  and  ter- 
minates in  the  promontory  of  Mastusia.  It  is  washed 
on  the  west  by  the  waters  of  the  gulf  of  Melas  and  the 
sea  of  Thrace  (the  ^gean)  and  on  the  east  by  the 
narrow  Hellespont,  which  separates  it  from  the  ad- 
jacent shores  of  Asia.     This  peninsula  is  the  last  fron- 


IMPORTANCE    OF    SESTUS 


441 


tier  of  Europe.  Along  its  shores  in  that  day  were 
populous  cities  and  towns,  separated  by  stretches  of 
woods  interspersed  by  green  pastures  and  arable  lands. 
On  the  eastern  shore  were  Pactye,  Crithote,  Gallipolis, 
Coela,  Sestus,  Madytus,  and  far  to  the  south,  Elseus. 
On  the  west  near  the  neck  of  the  peninsula  was  Cardia 
founded  by  the  uncle  of  the  noted  Miltiades  long  be- 
fore the  Scythian  expedition  of  Darius,  Alopeconnesos, 
Limnffi  and  Araplus.  Sestus,  however,  was  the  prin- 
cipal port  on  the  Hellespont  and  its  possession  would 
not  only  enable  its  captors  to  reduce  the  peninsula  but 
would  give  them  control  of  the  Hellespont,  and  the 
carrying  trade  from  Byzantium  and  the  Euxine.  Its 
importance  appears  from  the  language  of  Thucydides 
(viii,  62)  who  says  it  was  "  the  post  for  the  defense  of 
the  entire  Hellespont." 

When  Xanthippus  conducted  his  operations,  Ar- 
tayctes  was  in  command  of  the  Persian  garrison  at 
Sestus.  He  was  not  prepared  to  stand  a  siege,  as  the 
Greeks  came  upon  him  unexpectedly  and  he  had  not 
sufficient  time  to  provide  himself  with  provisions  and 
other  things  necessary  to  enable  him  to  make  any  con- 
siderable resistance.  He  was  a  wicked  and  cruel  tyrant. 
He  had  incurred  the  hatred  of  the  inhabitants  of  Elseus, 
a  city  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  peninsula,  where 
stood  the  temple  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  the  hero 
Protesilaus.  His  name  was  hallowed  because  it  was 
said  he  was  the  first  Greek  killed  in  the  Trojan  War. 
He  commanded  a  squadron  in  the  fleet  of  Agamemnon 
and  was  the  first  to  leap  from  his  vessel  on  the  shores 
of  Asia,  and  fell  a  victim  of  the  spear  of  the  noted 
Hector.  His  tomb  was  within  the  edifice  at  Elaius, 
surrounded  by  a  sacred  grove.  There  were  accumu- 
lated sacred  offerings  and  a  great  store  of  vases  of 
gold  and  silver,  works  in  brass,  robes  and  richly  em- 
broidered garments.  All  this  wealth  had  been  obtained 
by  the  Persian  Artayctes,  with  the  consent  of  Xerxes, 


442 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


CRUCIFIXION    OF   ARTAYCTES 


443 


when  the  latter  crossed  the  Hellespont  with  his  army. 
After  the  army  of  invasion  had  left  the  Chersonese, 
on  its  western  march  Artayctes  took  the  treasures 
from  the  temple  at  Elaeus  and  brought  them  to  Sesttis. 
Not  satisfied  with  the  wealth  he  had  secured,  he  deter- 
mined to  insult  the  Greeks  by  destroying  the  sacred 
grove  about  the  temple  which  he  cut  down  and  made 
these  hallowed  precincts,  cornfields  and  pasture  lands. 
His  base  instincts  prompted  him  to  still  further  out- 
rage the  feelings  of  the  Hellenese  on  the  Chersonese. 
He  even  polluted  the  sacred  shrine,  by  harboring  there 
his  concubines,  when  he  visited  Elaeus  for  pleasure  or 
recreation.  Now  the  day  of  retribution  drew  nigh.  He 
was  about  to  receive  condign  punishment  at  the  hands 
of  Xanthippus. 

The  Greeks  vigorously  prosecuted  the  siege.  It  was 
getting  late  in  the  autumn  and  those  in  the  fleet  began 
to  murmur  at  being  kept  abroad  so  long.  But  the  cap- 
tains would  not  listen  to  their  entreaties  to  return  to 
Greece  until  they  had  taken  Sestus  or  until  their  own 
countrymen  ordered  them  to  return. 

It  was  not  long  until  the  Persian  garrison  began  to 
suffer  for  want  of  provisions.  Great  numbers  had 
flocked  to  Sestus  from  the  neighboring  towns,  when 
they  learned  that  that  stronghold  was  being  besieged 
and  among  them  CEobazus,  who  had  been  stationed  a^ 
Cardia.  But  these  contingents  required  to  be  fed.  The 
provisions  of  the  garrison  were  soon  exhausted.  They 
were  reduced  to  such  extremity  that  they  boiled  the 
cords  of  their  beds,  which  were  made  of  thongs,  cut  in 
strips  from  the  hides  of  animals,  and  ate  them.  When 
there  was  nothing  left  to  eat,  Artayctes  and  CEobazus, 
with  the  native  Persians,  made  their  escape  by  night, 
and  fled  having  let  themselves  down  from  the  wall  at  the 
back  of  the  town,  where  there  were  stationed  but  few  of 
the  blockading  forces.  At  dawn  the  citizens  threw 
open  the  gates  of  their  city.    It  was  at  once  occupied 


by  the  army  of  Xanthippus,  who  detached  a  strong 
body  of  troops  to  pursue  the  flying  Persians.  CEobazus 
fled  to  Thrace,  where  he  was  captured  and  he  and  his 
companions  were  put  to  death  by  the  half  civilized 
tribes  of  that  region.  Artayctes,  who  had  been  the 
last  to  quit  his  post,  retreated  northward,  and  was 
overtaken  at  ^gospotami,  where  that  stream  flows  into 
the  Hellespont,  about  ten  miles  north  of  Sestus,  oppo- 
site Lampsacus,  on  the  coast  of  Asia,  the  spot  which 
seventy-five  years  later  marked  the  closing  scenes  of 
the  Pcloponnesian  War.  And  now  unusual  punishment 
was  about  to  be  meted  out  to  the  impious  and  cruel 
Persian  commander,  who  had  wantonly  outraged  the 
religious  feelings  of  the  Hellenese  and  whose  temples 
he  had  defiled.  All  the  prisoners  taken  at  ^Egospotami, 
including  Artayctes  and  his  son,  were  brought  back  to 
Sestus  in  chains. 

The  story  is  told  of  the  premonition  entertained  by 
Artayctes  concerning  his  fate.  His  keeper  was  broil- 
ing fish,  when  suddenly  they  squirmed  and  quivered  in 
the  pan,  as  if  still  alive.  The  soldier  was  at  a  loss  how 
to  interpret  the  phenomenon.  Then  his  prisoner,  Ar- 
tayctes observed:  "Fear  not,  Athenian  stranger,  be- 
cause of  this  marvel.  It  has  not  appeared  on  thy  ac- 
count, but  on  mine.  Protesilaus  of  Elaeus  has  sent  it  to 
show  me,  that  albeit  he  is  dead  and  embalmed  with  salt, 
he  has  power  from  the  gods  to  chastise  his  injurer."  ^ 

He  then  offered  immense  bribes  to  secure  the  liberty 
of  himself  and  his  son,  and  said  he  would  give  two  hun- 
dred talents  for  the  life  of  each.  But  the  men  from 
Elaeus  who  wished  to  avenge  the  memory  of  their  hero, 
Protesilaus,  entreated  Xanthippus  to  put  him  to  death. 
Then  the  Athenian  commander  ordered  that  the  im- 
pious Persian  be  led  to  execution.  The  place  chosen 
for  the  purpose  was  the  spot  where  the  western  ter- 

*  Herod,  ix,  120. 


¥ 


444 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


minus  of  the  bridge  of  Xerxes  had  stood,  though  ac- 
cording to  another  account,  it  was  on  a  knoll  above  the 
town  of  Madytus.  He  was  nailed  to  a  plank  which  was 
hoisted  aloft,  securely  planted  in  the  earth,  and  left 
hanging  there  until  death  released  him  from  his  agony. 
To  aggravate  his  punishment,  his  son  was  brought  to 
the  spot  where  the  parent  hung,  and  was  stoned  to 
death  beneath  the  eyes  of  his  dying  father.  Having 
reduced  Sestus  and  secured  control  of  the  Hellespont 
which  was  garrisoned  by  his  allies,  the  fleet  of  Xan- 
thippus  returned  to  Greece,  laden  with  the  rich  spoils 
of  this  memorable  campaign.  He  took  with  him  also 
the  remnants  of  the  shore  cables  from  the  bridge  of 
Xerxes,  to  be  placed  in  their  temples  and  dedicated  as 
mementos  of  the  deliverance  of  Hellas  from  the  yoke  of 
Persia. 

At  this  point  we  must  take  leave  of  Herodotus,  who 
closes  his  entertaining  detailed  and  interesting  history 
with  the  siege  and  capture  of  Sestus.  This  venerable 
author  is  in  the  main  our  only  source  of  information 
as  to  the  period  of  the  Persian  Wars,  and  posterity  is 
indebted  to  him  and  to  his  successor  Thucydides,  for 
the  knowledge  we  possess  of  the  events  constituting 
the  early  history  of  Greece. 


CHAPTER    XXIX 

CYPRUS    AND    BYZANTIUM 

CYPRUS  —  Si-prus  —  [Kvirpos] .  An  island  off  the  coast  of 
Phoenicia  and  Cilicia.  It  occupied  a  strong  strategic  position  as 
a  naval  base,  commanding  Egypt  and  the  Delta  of  the  Nile, 
Phcenicia  and  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  Cilicia, 
Pamphylia  and  Lycia,  constituting  the  southern  coast  of  Asia 
Minor,  the  island  of  Rhodes  and  the  eastern  entrance  to  the 
iEgean  Sea.  Partly  reduced  by  a  Peloponnesian  and  Athenian 
fleet  under  Pausanias,  B.  C.  478. 

BYZANTIUM  — Bi-zan-shi-um—[Bi;favTioi'].  A  city  on  the 
extreme  verge  of  Europe,  situated  on  a  peninsula  at  the  apex  of 
the  triangle  facing  Asia,  formed  by  the  Bosphorus  on  the  east, 
the  Golden  Horn  on  the  west,  and  the  waters  of  the  Propontis 
(Sea  of  Marmora)  on  the  south.  It  extends  on  both  shores  of 
the  Golden  Horn.  On  the  peninsula  proper  the  city  is  now  desig- 
nated Pera  and  Galata,  and  is  connected  with  ancient  Byzan- 
tium, now  Stamboul,  at  two  points  by  the  Galata  and  Golden 
Horn  bridges.  The  city  in  Bithynia  in  Asia  across  the  Bosphorus, 
known  to  the  ancients  as  Chalcedon  (  XaXicnduv  )  is  now  Scutari. 
Byzantium  A.  D.  330  was  designated  Constantinople,  so  chris- 
tened in  honor  of  himself  by  the  Emperor  Constantine.  Be- 
sieged and  taken  from  the  Persians  by  the  Spartan  admiral, 
Pausanias,  B.  C.  478. 


)UR  information  as  to  the  events  which  trans- 
pired in  Greece  covering  the  period  of  forty- 
eight  years  intermediate  the  fall  of  Sestus 
B.  C.  479,  and  the  beginning  of  the  Pelo- 
ponnesian War  B.  C.  431,  is  rather  meagre. 
Herodotus  concludes  his  interesting  and  entertaining 
history  with  a  brief  account  of  the  expulsion  of  the 
Persian  forces  from  the  port  city  of  Sestus,  on  the 
Hellespont  ^    (q.   v.).      The   civil  and  military   affairs 


*Chap.  28,  ante. 


445 


446 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


PAUSANIAS   IN    COMMAND 


447 


which  occurred  intermediate  that  event  and  the  sur- 
prise at  Plataea  B.  C.  431,  which  was  the  first  military 
operation  in  the  long  war  between  Sparta  and  Athens, 
has  been  sketched  briefly  by  Thucydides  in  the  chapter 
which  constitutes  his  introduction  to  his  noted  history 
of  that  disastrous  conflict.  This  authority  is  supple- 
mented chiefly  by  the  information  which  can  be  gleaned 
from  the  lives  of  the  men  of  that  period,  written  in 
such  entertaining  fashion  by  Plutarch  of  Bceotia  and 
from  the  later  history  of  Diodorus  of  Sicily. 

The  battle  of  Mycale  in  Asia  Minor  was  fought  on 
the  same  day  that  Pausanias  defeated  Mardonius  at 
Plataea.  No  permanent  confederacy  had  then  been 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  freeing  the  Asiatic  Greeks 
from  the  Persian  yoke.  But  immediately  after  the 
battle  of  Platffia,  while  the  army  was  still  encamped  on 
the  field,  and  while  Leotychides  and  Xanthippus  were 
absent,  conducting  their  campaign  in  Asia  Minor,  a 
general  assembly  of  representatives  of  all  the  Greeks 
was  called,  to  supplement  the  first  pan-Hellenic  Greek 
Congress  held  on  the  Isthmus  under  the  guidance  of 
Themistocles,  to  make  preparations  to  resist  Xerxes. 
The  purpose  of  this  second  conference  was  to  devise 
ways  and  means  to  guard  against  any  further  invasion 
which  might  be  undertaken  by  the  barbarians  for  the 
subjugation  of  Hellas.  At  this  assemblage  a  decree 
was  proposed  by  Aristides,  and  adopted  by  the  Assem- 
bly, that  the  Greek  states  should  send  representatives 
who  should  assemble  annually  at  Plataea  and  should 
there  celebrate  every  fifth  year  the  Eleutherian  games  to 
commemorate  their  freedom.  It  was  decreed  further  that 
a  levy  should  be  made  upon  all  Greece  for  ten  thou- 
sand spearmen,  and  one  thousand  cavalry,  constituting 
the  land  force,  and  also  a  fleet  of  one  hundred  triremes. 
This  was  to  be  the  standing  army  and  navy  to  protect 
Hellas  against  the  barbarians.  But  the  Plataeans,  it 
was  agreed,  should  be  exempt,  and  were  not  to  be  called 


upon  to  furnish  troops  either  for  the  land  or  naval 
forces. 

When  Leotychides  returned  to  Sparta,  after  the  suc- 
cessful campaign  at  Mycale,  it  was  agreed  that  a  fleet 
should  be  sent  to  the  East  to  assist  in  the  expulsion  of 
the  barbarians  from  Cyprus,  and  the  coasts   of  Asia 
Minor.     The  squadron  consisted  of  fifty  ships,  twenty 
furnished   by   the   Peloponnesians    and   thirty   by    the 
Athenians.      The   chief  command   was   given   to   Pau- 
sanias, the  victor  of  Plataea.     The  Athenians  were  led 
by  Aristides,  and  Cimon,  the  son  of  Miltiades,  the  vic- 
tor of  Marathon.     We  are  not  informed  that   Xan- 
thippus accompanied  the  expedition,  although  his  abil- 
ity as  a  commander  was  evidenced  by  his  victory  at 
Sestus.      It   is    highly    probable    that   he    was    chosen 
strategus  that  year  as  Themistocles  was.     Their  serv- 
ices doubtless  were  needed  at  Athens,  as  the  city  was 
then  being  rebuilt   on   a   grand   scale,   within   the  new 
walls,  which  had  been  erected  in  spite  of  the  protest  of 
the  Peloponnesians.     This  fleet  was  organized  in  the 
spring,  B.  C.  478,  the  year  after  the  battle  of  Plataea, 
in  conformity  with  resolutions  passed  while  the  Greeks 
were  still  encamped  there.     The  Asiatic  Greeks  were  in 
readiness  to   cooperate  with  them,  and   contributed  a 
number  of  ships.    We  have  no  accurate  information  as 
to  the  number  of  triremes  which  joined  Pausanias  in 
the  East,  but  Professor  Curtius  estimates  that  perhaps 
fifty  vessels  were  added  to  the  expedition  making  the 
fleet  of  Pausanias  in  the  aggregate  about  one  hundred 
triremes. 

Pausanias  conducted  his  squadron  first  to  the  island 
of  Cyprus.  The  fact  that  this  island  was  made  the 
first  objective  of  the  Greek  fleet,  shows  the  extent  of 
the  ambitious  schemes  entertained  by  the  Hellenes. 
Their  country  was  now  independent.  The  move  upon 
Cyprus  shows  that  the  expedition  sent  out  by  author- 
ity of  the  pan-Hellenic  council  at  Platasa  was  sent  as 


448 


MIUTAEY  ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


BYZANTIUM 


449 


an  army  of  invasion  and  conquest.     The  position  of 
the  island  made  its  occupation  extremely  important  as 
a  military  base.    It  was  essential  in  connection  with  the 
island  of  Crete  to  the  command  of  the  Mediterranean. 
It  formed  the  naval  base  for  operations  against  Egypt 
as  It  commanded  the  Delta  of  the  Nile.     It  was  at  the 
gateway  to  the  eastern  Mgean,  and  lay  in  the  path  of 
vessels  from  the  eastern  Mediterranean  to  the  islands 
on  the  western  shores  of  Asia  Minor.     It  commanded 
the  coasts  of  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  of  Lycia,  Pamphylia 
and   Cilicia.     We  have   no   detailed  information  with 
regard   to   the   operations    of   Pausanias   at   Cyprus. 
Thucydides  in  his  introductory  chapter  to  his  history 
of  the  Peloponnesian  War  gives  us  what  information 
we  have  m  part  of  a  sentence.    He  says  (i,  94),  "  they 
(the  Athenians  and  Peloponnesians)  first  made  an  ex- 
pedition  against   Cyprus   of  which   they   subdued   the 
greater  part,  and  afterwards  against  Byzantium,  which 
was  m  the  hands  of  the  Persians,  and  was  taken  while 
he    (Pausanias)    was    still    in    command."      The    com- 
merce of  Greece,  however,  was  not  dependent  so  much 
on  the  reduction  of  Cyprus,  as  upon  the  control  of  the 
Bosphorus  and  the  Hellespont,  which  commanded  the 
trade  of  the  Euxine  and  to  a  certain  extent  all  of  the 
Greek  colonies  in  Thrace,  and  around  the  borders  of 
the  Propontis  and  the  Euxine.     Byzantium  was  per- 
haps the  most  important  point  in  Europe  so  far  as  this 
trade  was  concerned.    It  was  necessary  also  to  drive  the 
Persians  from  their  strongholds  at  Eion,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Strymon,  and  from  Thasos  and  other  islands  in 
the  northern  ^gean,  or  Sea  of  Thrace. 

Pausanias,  therefore,  concluded  not  to  consume  the 
entire  season  in  the  conquest  and  reduction  of  Cy- 
prus, being  content  with  having  reduced  the  greater 
part  of  it,  he  determined  to  make  an  attack  on  Byzan- 
tium. 

This  ancient  city  on  the  Bosphorus  which  possessed 


such    great   commercial   advantages   derived   its   early 
celebrity  also  from  the  poems  of  antiquity. 

Prior  to  the  seventh  century  B.  C.  the  work  of  colo- 
nization had  not  begun  in  the  regions  about  the  Bos- 
phorus, the  Propontis  and  the  southern  shores  of  the 
Euxine.  The  early  traditions  of  that  locality  beyond 
the  records  of  authentic  history  belong  to  the  shadowy 
domain  of  legend  and  fable.  Before  Agamemnon  sailed 
from  Aulis  with  the  Greeks,  in  his  hollow  ships  to  in- 
vade the  Kingdom  of  Priam,  Jason  and  his  companions, 
in  the  ship  Argo,  penetrated  to  the  extreme  confines  of 
the  world  and  sailed  to  Colchis  in  search  of  the  Golden 
Fleece.  His  course  took  him  through  the  Hellespont, 
the  Propontis,  the  Bosphorus,  past  the  site  of  Byzan- 
tium, and  along  the  south  coast  of  the  Euxine  to  its 
eastern  borders  to  the  land  of  mystery,  where  Medea, 
the  sister  of  Circe,  exercised  her  sorcery  and  magic 
art  to  aid  Jason  in  his  quest. 

Pindar,  in  the  Fourth  Pythian  Ode,  doubtless  refers 
to  the  site  where  ancient  Byzantium  was  afterwards 
built,  when  he  relates  how  Jason  offered  sacrifices  when 
he  reached  the  Bosphorus  at  the  mouth  of  the  Euxine. 
Here  is  Cary's  version  of  Pindar's  lines: 

Conducted  by  the  breezy  south, 
They  reached  the  stormy  Euxine's  mouth; 
There  a  shrine  for  Neptune  reared; 
Of  Thracian  bulls,  a  crimson  herd 
Were  ready;    and  heav'n  founded  stone, 
Wide  spread,  to  lay  the  altar  on. 

It  was  not  until  B.  C.  656,  that  the  navigator  Byzos, 
a  son  of  Neptune,  sailed  away  with  his  companions, 
recruited  in  Argos  and  Megara,  and  founded  Byzan- 
tium. Tacitus  says  they  were  directed  thither  by  an 
oracle  of  the  Pythian  Apollo,  who,  when  asked  where 
they  should  build  a  city,  replied,  "that  they  should 
seek  a  situation  opposite  to  the  habitations  of  blind 


ill 


4S0 


MlUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


men.  The  riddle  had  reference  to  the  Chalcedonians, 
who  first  visited  the  locality,  and  saw  the  advantages 
of  the  site  on  the  coast  of  Europe,  yet  blindly  crossed 
to  Asia  and  chose  an  inferior  site  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  strait.  The  work  of  colonization  was  extended 
by  the  Megarians  and  Milesians,  who  subsequently 
founded  Selymbria  on  the  north  coast  of  the  Propontis, 
opposite  Cyzicus  on  the  south  coast,  and  Heraclea, 
Smope  and  Trapezus  on  the  south  shore  of  the  Euxine, 
and  Sestus  and  Abydos  on  the  Hellespont. 

Byzantium,  B.   C.   478,  was  garrisoned  by  a  large 
Persian  force,  commanded  by  kinsmen  of  Xerxes.     The 
Greeks   besieged  it  vigorously.      Finally   the  garrison 
was  forced  to  surrender  and  Pausanias  became  master 
of  this  most  important  stronghold  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Euxine.     We  have  no  record  concerning  the  details  of 
the  siege.     Whether  the  enemy  were  reduced  by  famine, 
or  opened  their  gates  through  treachery,  we  can  only 
conjecture.      All   we   know   is   that   the  Persians   were 
driven  from  their  most  important  stronghold  in  Eu- 
rope.    The  conquest  was  completed  by  the  reduction 
of  Chalcedon,  now  Scutari,  designated  by  the  oracle, 
"  The  City  of  the  Blind,"  situated  on  the  opposite  shore 
of  the  Bosphorus,  in  Bithynia,  in  Asia.     With  the  re- 
duction of  these  cities  the  Bosphorus  passed  from  the 
control  of  Persia  to  the  control  of  Greece.    The  reduc- 
tion of  Sestus  and  the  Thracian  Chersonese,  the  year 
before,  by  the  fleet  under  Xanthippus,  made  the  Hellen- 
ese  masters  of  the  Hellespont,  and  being  now  in  posses- 
sion of  the  Bosphorus  they  controlled  unobstructed  the 
great  highway  of  commerce  from  the  Euxine  through 
the  Propontis  to  the  ^gean.     These  were  the  impor- 
tant advantages  which  resulted  from  the  two  successful 
campaigns  in  Asia  Minor,  and  were  the  first  fruits  of 
the  efforts  of  united  Hellas  to  emancipate  their  coun- 
trymen in  the  east  from  the  dominion  of  Persia. 

The  reduction  of  Byzantium  was  the  last  achieve- 


■73Bj»i» 


FAUSANIAS    KECALLEO 


451 


ment  of  Pausanias.  Soon  after  his  occupation  of  that 
important  port,  about  B.  C.  478,  he  opened  negotia- 
tions with  Xerxes  in  which  he  sought  to  sell  his  sword 
to  Persia,  marry  the  daughter  of  the  Great  King,  sub- 
jugate Greece,  and  make  it  an  appendage  to  the  Per- 
sian Empire.  The  capture  of  Byzantium,  also,  was  the 
last  triumph  of  united  Greece.  The  arrogance,  vanity 
and  treachery  of  Pausanias  rendered  his  conduct  insuf- 
ferable and  by  reason  of  his  selfishness  and  tyranny, 
the  captains  and  generals  of  the  Greeks  refused  longer 
to  serve  under  him.  They  came  to  Aristides,  and  re- 
quested him  to  be  their  general.  When  the  reports  of 
his  conduct  reached  the  Ephors  at  Sparta,  he  was  re- 
called and  relieved  of  his  command.  On  his  departure 
Aristides  and  Cimon  were  chosen  commanders,  and  the 
officers  and  men  thereafter  refused  to  serve  under  Dor- 
kis,  who  was  sent  by  Sparta  to  command  in  Pausania's 
stead.  At  Byzantium,  therefore,  Greek  unity  ceased. 
Sparta  withdrew  from  the  allies,  whose  fleets  and  armies 
were  operating  in  the  Thracian  Chersonese,  and  Athens 
assumed  the  hegemony  in  the  affairs  of  Greece,  which 
resulted  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  Athenian  Empire. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Peloponnesians  declined 
to  cooperate  any  further  with  the  Athenians  and  their 
allies,  the  latter,  B.  C.  478,  set  about  to  form  a  new 
confederacy  with  the  Asiatic  Greeks  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Aristides  and  Cimon,  known  as  the  Confederacy 
of  Delos. 


!■ 


AN    ATHENIAN    CONFEDERACY 


453 


CHAPTER    XXX 

CONFEDERACY  OF  DELOS,  B.C.  478 

DELOS  —  dMos  — I  A^Xot  ].  An  island  of  the  Cyclades  in  the 
^gean  Sea,  sacred  to  the  Greeks  as  the  birthplace  of  the  twin 
deities,  Apollo  and  Artemis  (Diana).  It  is  about  midway  be- 
tween the  shores  of  the  Peloponnesus  and  the  east  coast  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  was  selected  as  the  capital  of  the  new  confederacy 
from  which  the  latter  takes  its  name. 

fFTER  Pausanias  was  recalled  hy  the  Ephors 
of  Sparta  because  the  seamen  and  soldiers  of 
the  Greek  fleet  at   Byzantium   refused  any 
longer  to   serve  under  him  or  to   obey  his 
orders,  Sparta  sent  Dorkis,  a  new  admiral, 
to  take  the  place  of  the  victor  of  Plat«a.     The  cap- 
tains and  members  of  the  expedition,  however,  had  ap- 
pealed to  Aristides  and  Cimon  to  take  command  of  the 
fleet,  so  that  when  Dorkis  arrived  it  was  too  late  for 
him   to   urge   his   claims   as   commander.      Sparta   de- 
clined to  serve  under  an  Athenian  admiral,  and  Dorkis 
withdrew  the  Peloponnesian  ships,  abandoned  the  expe- 
dition and  sailed  back  to  Greece.     This  movement  on 
the    part    of    the    Peloponnesians    transferred    from 
Athens  to  Sparta  the  leadership  which  the  former  had 
previously  exercised.     It  became  necessary,  however,  in 
order  to  prosecute  the  war  for  the  expulsion  of  the 
Persian  arms  from  the  islands  in  the  Sea  of  Thrace 
and  to  establish  the  independence  of  the  Greek  cities 
in  Asia  Minor,  to  procure  funds  and  establish  an  alH- 
ance  imposing  upon  its  members  the  obligation  to  con- 
tribute money,  men  and  ships  necessary  to  support  a 
fleet,  requisite  to  the  undertaking.     This  was  the  ob- 
ject sought  to  be  attained  by  the  formation  of  a  new 

452 


confederacy.  The  alliance  among  the  Greeks  repre- 
sented in  the  conference  on  the  battle-field  of  Plataea 
was  pan-Hellenic.  Sparta,  however,  and  her  Pelopon- 
nesian allies  having  withdrawn  from  the  expedition  in 
the  east  after  the  recall  of  Pausanias,  it  became  neces- 
sary that  Athens  should  take  the  lead.  The  Confed- 
eracy of  Delos,  therefore,  was  essentially  an  Athenian 
enterprise. 

The  date  of  the  formation  of  the  Confederacy  of 
Dclos,  which  has  been  generally  placed  about  B.  C.  476, 
has  now  been  definitely  ascertained  to  have  been  B.  C. 
478.  A  few  years  ago  Aristotle's  treatise  on  the  Con- 
stitution of  Athens  was  discovered  in  Egypt.  The 
author  declares  that  after  the  discredit  brought  upon 
the  Lacedaemonians  by  the  misconduct  and  treachery  of 
Pausanias,  Aristides  guided  the  public  policy  of  Athens. 
"  It  was  he,"  says  Aristotle,  "  who  arranged  the  tribute 
from  the  various  allied  states,  which  was  first  insti- 
tuted two  years  after  the  battle  of  Salamis,  in  the 
archonship  of  Timosthenes."  ^ 

This  powerful  league  was  the  instrument  which  en- 
abled Athens  to  build  up  an  empire,  and  to  become 
during  the  period  of  her  supremacy,  the  most  noted 
city  in  the  world.  The  formation  of  that  Confederacy 
is  a  conspicuous  illustration  of  the  power  of  unity. 
The  alliance  formed  at  Platasa  was  intended  to  be  pan- 
Hellenic  and  was  designed  to  bring  about  what  might 
with  propriety  be  termed  the  United  States  of  Greece. 
The  coalition,  however,  as  has  been  observed  was  im- 
paired by  reason  of  the  jealousy  and  indifference  of 
the  Lacedaemonians,  who,  after  the  recall  of  the  Spartan 
admiral  Pausanias,  who  had  been  its  head,  declined  to 
longer  remain  a  party  to  the  alliance.  Sparta,  how- 
ever, had  no  real  sympathy  with  Athens,  because  the 
former  never  would  countenance  a  democratic  form  of 


I 
I 


1^: 


*  Aristotle's  Athenian  Constitution.    Ch.  23. 


454 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


government.  Sparta  was  and  had  always  been  an 
oligarchy.  Athens  was  a  republic,  an  imperial  repub- 
lic, but  nevertheless  strongly  attached  to  principles  of 
democracy.  Athens  was  Ionian,  Sparta  Dorian.  The 
Athenians  were  active,  ambitious,  public-spirited,  pa- 
triotic. The  Spartans  were  narrow,  tyrannical,  phleg- 
matic and  antagonistic  to  any  form  of  popular  gov- 
ernment. This  radical  difference  between  the  politics 
and  temperament  of  the  Lacedemonians  and  Athenians 
was  never  reconciled,  and  finally  resulted  in  the  down- 
fall of  Greece,  and  the  subjugation  of  her  people.  It 
was  this  radical  difference,  also,  that  enabled  Athens, 
in  spite  of  Sparta  to  use  the  powerful  organization 
represented  by  the  Confederacy  of  Delos  and  the 
wealth  contributed  to  its  Treasury,  to  prosecute  the 
wars  which  expanded  her  power  into  an  empire,  and  to 
use  that  wealth  to  beautify  and  adorn  the  capital  of 
Attica.  When  Pericles  succeeded  on  some  plausible 
pretext  in  removing  the  treasury  of  the  organization 
from  Delos  to  Athens,  and  to  expend  its  treasure  raised 
and  assessed  for  military  purposes,  for  the  personal 
aggrandizement  of  his  native  city,  his  enemies,  as  Plu- 
tarch observes,  publicly  berated  the  great  statesman, 
and  charged  him  with  squandering  the  treasure  which 
was  contributed  by  Athens  and  her  constituent  allies,  as 
a  necessity  for  the  war,  and  wantonly  lavishing  it  upon 
the  City  "  to  gild  her  all  over  and  adorn  and  set  her 
forth  as  it  were  some  vain  woman,  hung  round  with 
precious  stones  and  figures  and  temples,  which  cost  a 
world  of  money." 

The  organization  of  this  military  and  political  alli- 
ance was  the  result  of  apprehension  on  the  part,  of  the 
Hellenes  of  further  inroads  and  invasions  of  Persia. 

The  defeat  of  the  Persian  army  at  Plataa,  the  death 
of  Mardonius,  and  the  destruction  of  the  Persian  fleet 
at  Mycale  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  and  the  reduc- 
tion of  Sestus  and  Byzantium,  put  an  end  to  the  de- 


1»AN  -  HELLENIC    CONFEDERACY 


455 


signs  of  Xerxes  for  the  subjugation  of  continental 
Hellas.  The  aspirations  of  the  Hellenes  took  new  life, 
after  the  great  victory  at  Salamis,  and  the  triumph 
over  Persia  at  the  battle  of  Plata?a  and  restoration  of 
the  liberties  of  the  Asiatic  Greeks.  It  was  obvious, 
however,  that  Persia,  though  its  armies  had  evacuated 
Greece,  was  still  a  powerful  enemy.  Its  occupation  of 
many  cities  and  ports  in  Macedonia  and  Thrace  was  a 
constant  menace  to  Greek  commerce  in  the  Hellespont 
and  the  Euxine.  The  Greek  colonists  in  Asia  Minor 
a-id  in  the  cities  and  islands  of  the  eastern  ^Egean  and 
in  the  Cyclades  archipelago,  not  under  the  domination 
of  Xerxes,  were  constantly  in  dread  of  the  Persians, 
and  their  numerous  allies,  for  her  empire  when  Xerxes 
invaded  Greece  embraced  the  civilized  world,  save  con- 
tinental Hellas. 

Just  as  the  American  colonies,  after  they  had  secured 
their  independence  of  the  mother  country,  found  it 
essential  in  order  to  maintain  their  liberties  to  form  a 
confederacy,  and  enter  into  an  alliance  offensive  and 
defensive  under  Articles  of  Confederation,  so  Athens, 
in  order  to  maintain  her  independence  and  commercial 
supremacy  and  to  protect  the  liberties  of  the  Asiatic 
Greeks,  found  it  essential  to  form  a  pan-Hellenic  Con- 
federacy with  all  Greeks  in  Asia  Minor,  both  Ionian 
and  Dorian,  and  with  the  insular  cities,  and  communities 
scattered  through  the  ^gean  Sea.  Dread  of  Persian 
conquest  and  invasion  was  the  centripetal  force  that 
gave  cohesion  to  this  political  confederacy,  which  had 
its  geographical  centre  or  capital  on  the  island  of 
Delos,  in  the  bosom  of  the  ^]gean. 

The  Confederacy  had  its  genesis  in  an  expedition 
fitted  out  B.  C.  478  the  next  year  after  the  battle  of 
Plata?a,  under  command  of  the  Spartan  Pausanias, 
which  immediately  went  to  the  relief  of  the  Greek  cities 
in  the  island  of  Cyprus,  then  under  the  Persian  yoke, 
and  having  liberated  them,  sailed  north  into  the  Helles- 


4S6 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GE££C£ 


CIMON    IN    8ITPEEME    COMMAND 


457 


pent  and  Bosphorus,  and  took  the  ports  of  Sestus  and 
Byzantium  (q.  v.)  thus  securing  uninterrupted  com- 
munication for  Greek  fleets  and  Greek  commerce  from 
the  Euxine  to  the  JEgean,  Although  Athens  con- 
tributed more  ships  to  this  expedition  than  did  Sparta 
and  the  Peloponnese,  the  Athenians  being  under  the 
immediate  command  of  Aristides  and  Cimon,  yet  the 
Spartan  Pausanias  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  ex- 
pedition, this  honor,  no  doubt,  being  the  result  of  his 
having  achieved  the  highest  distinction  as  the  victor 
of  Plataea. 

After  these  achievements,  while  the  fleet  was  in  the 
Bosphorus,  Pausanias,  notwithstanding  his  great  repu- 
tation as  a  successful  and  patriotic  general,  grew  to  be 
overbearing  and  cruel.  Avarice  became  in  him  stronger 
than  patriotism.  He  grew  weary  of  the  stem  disci- 
pline and  frugal  customs  of  his  country,  and  like  a 
Sabyrite,  sought  the  luxury  and  ease  indulged  in  by 
the  Lotus-eaters  in  the  palaces  at  Sardis  and  Susa, 
Persepolis  and  Ecbatana.  He  sought  to  sell  his  sword 
to  Persia,  one  of  the  conditions  being  that  the  daughter 
of  the  Great  King  should  be  given  him  in  marriage, 
Pausanias  having  agreed  on  his  part  to  conquer  Hellas 
for  the  Persian  monarch.  Before  his  treason  could 
bring  forth  fruit,  Pausanias  was  recalled  and  died  in 
disgrace  B.  C.  496,  while  seeking  refuge  from  condign 
punishment. 

When  Pausanias  sailed  home  to  the  Peloponnese,  he 
took  his  triremes  with  him,  and  the  Athenians,  Aris- 
tides and  Cimon,  were  chosen  admirals  and  at  once 
took  command  of  the  fleet.  The  Spartan  government 
sent  out  Dorkis  to  take  the  place  of  Pausanias,  but 
when  he  arrived  with  his  triremes,  Athens  was  in  con- 
trol, having  gained  an  advantage  by  reason  of  the 
cruelty  and  tyranny  of  Pausanias,  which  it  refused  to 
yield,  and  never  relinquished  for  a  period  of  seventy 
years. 


After  the  retirement  of  Aristides,  Cimon  succeeded 
to  the  supreme  command  of  the  naval  forces  in  the 
-^gean.  Under  this  illustrious  son  of  Miltiades,  and 
his  successor,  Pericles,  Athens  achieved  her  highest  re- 
nown. The  hegemony  of  Athens  under  the  Confed- 
eracy of  Delos,  culminated  in  the  Athenian  empire, 
Athens  having  finally  secured  the  maritime  control  of 
eastern  Europe  and  the  ^gean  sea. 

After  the  recall  of  Pausanias,  Sparta,  always  jeal- 
ous of  Athens,  refused  to  cooperate  in  the  plans  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  advocated  a  return  of  the  Ionian  and 
Doric  Greek  colonists  to  Hellas,  rather  than  to  police 
the  JEgean,  and  protect  them  where  they  were.  The 
plans  of  Sparta  were  not  followed,  and  the  latter  re- 
fused to  enter  the  Confederacy,  but  devoted  her  en- 
ergies to  establish  Lacedaemonian  dominion  on  land, 
while  her  rival  Athens,  was  establishing  her  supremacy 
on  the  sea. 

The  constituent  members  of  the  new  Confederacy 
willingly  agreed  to  make  contributions  both  of  ship 
and  money.  Among  them  were  the  Dorian  islands  of 
Rhodes  and  Cos,  the  Ionic  islands  of  Samos  and  Chios, 
the  JEolic  Lesbos  and  Tenedos,  the  ^Egean  islands  of 
Thasos  and  Naxos,  also  cities  on  the  continent  of  Asia 
Minor  including  Miletus.  Byzantium,  on  the  Helles- 
pont, was  also  a  member. 

The  island  of  Delos,  from  which  this  Confederacy 
derives  its  name,  lies  in  the  ^gean,  midway  the  Pelo- 
ponnese, and  the  west  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  immediately 
between  the  islands  of  Syros  and  Myconos,  and  about 
ninety  miles  almost  due  west  of  Patmos,  immortalized 
more  than  ^ve  centuries  later,  as  the  island  to  which 
St.  John  the  Divine  was  banished  (A.  D.  96),  where 
the  apocalyptic  vision  was  revealed,  an  account  of 
which  is  contained  in  the  New  Testament  scriptures,  in 
the  wonderful  Book  of  Revelations. 

The  various  municipalities  and  states  which  com- 


458 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


TAX    INCREASED 


459 


posed  the  Confederacy  of  Delos,  under  the  rules  of  the 
coahtion  sent  their  representatives  to  a  Synod  which 
met  periodically  in  the  temple  of  Apollo  and  Artemis, 
on  the  sacred  island  of  Delos.  Each  member  of  the 
Confederacy  agreed  to  contribute  its  quota  in  money, 
ships  and  men.  The  amount  of  the  assessment  was 
required  to  be  ratified  and  approved  by  the  Synod,  in 
which  all  the  members  were  represented. 

After  the  treasury  of  the  Confederacy  had  been  re- 
moved from  Delos  to  Athens,  for  the  reason  assigned 
by  the  Samians  and  others  that  there  was  danger  in 
case  it  remained  longer  in  that  remote  island,  that  it 
might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  barbarians,  Athens, 
which  was  President  of  the  league,  became  its  sole  dis- 
bursing agent.  To  insure  protection  to  the  constituent 
members  of  the  Confederacy  against  Persian  invasion, 
was  the  specific  object  and  purpose  for  which  the  allies 
consented  to  tax  themselves.  They  agreed  to  con- 
tribute each  respectively  its  pro-rata  share  of  the 
common  fund,  either  in  ships  and  men,  or  their 
equivalent  in  money.  The  amount  of  the  annual 
assessment  first  adjusted  by  Aristides  and  approved 
by  all  as  essentially  just  and  fair,  was  $460,000  (460 
talents).  In  the  time  of  Pericles  the  annual  tribute 
had  been  increased  and  was  then  $600,000  (600 
talents*). 


^2?  ^T^l'^'^ 1  sheckel 

60  sheckels    i  mina 

60  mrnas    i  talent 

?h^n!!^?"^*^  ""^^"^  °/  *  *?^^"*  •"  "^^  *"  Syria,  Palestine  and 
S2  0(S)  Th  TfT'^r  ,^«t^°^«*«d  approximately  from  $1,700  to 
J^2.000.     The    Attic    talent    contained    60    minas    or   6,000    Attic 

«nn  nH;  ^"^^  ^^  ^^.  P^""*^^'  ""^  ^^  """^*^«-  ^s  a  denomina- 
t^^r  ^^^^y*  *t  was  equal  to  about  $1,000.  —  Century  Die 


The  Athenian  empire  had  reached  the  period  of  its 
greatest  prosperity  when  Pericles  was  in  control  of 
affairs.  It  is  interesting  in  this  connection  to  note  the 
conduct  of  the  great  statesman  with  respect  to  the  use 
of  this  war  fund  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  Con- 
federacy. He  appropriated  a  large  part  of  it,  not  in 
the  prosecution  of  military  operations  conducted  for 
the  purpose  of  protecting  the  constituent  members  of 
the  Confederacy  from  Persian  invasion,  but  to  main- 
tain and  extend  the  Athenian  empire,  and  to  wage  war, 
not  of  Greek  against  Persian,  but  of  Greek  against 
Greek,  to  punish,  keep  in  subjection  and  subdue  re- 
fractory members  of  the  league,  and  to  beautify  and 
adorn  the  capital  of  Attica,  which  under  the  guiding 
genius  of  Pericles  became  the  most  attractive  and  or- 
nate city  in  Europe. 

Fear  of  Persian  invasion,  the  cause  which  made  a 
common  war  fund  necessary  for  the  protection  of 
Hellas  had  long  ceased  to  exist.  The  Athenian  arms 
under  the  illustrious  Cimon  and  Xanthippus,  the  father 
of  Pericles,  had  completely  humbled  the  power  of  Per- 
sia. After  her  crushing  defeat  on  land  and  sea  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Eurymedon,  in  Pamphylia  (B.  C.  466), 
what  further  need  was  there  to  continue  the  annual  tax, 
imposed  upon  themselves  by  the  members  of  the  Con- 
federacy, save  only  to  police  the  ^Egean  to  suppress 
marauding  pirates,  who  infested  its  waters.  After  the 
Peace  of  Cimon,  Persia  abandoned  the  idea  of  further 
conquests  in  Europe  or  of  the  Islands  of  the  ^gean, 
or  the  re-conquest  of  the  continental  Greek  cities  of 
Asia  Minor.  The  arms  of  Persia  had  been  not  only 
driven  to  the  coast-line.  They  had  been  driven  inland 
so  that  not  even  a  letter  carrier,  or  single  horseman  or 
courier  was  seen  to  approach  within  four  hundred  fur- 
longs of  the  sea.  What  need  then  to  continue  the  tax, 
much  less  increase  the  burden  from  four  hundred  and 
sixty  to  six  hundred  talents. 


ii 


460 


MILITAEY    ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


Mr.  Grote  observes  that  this  increase  may  have  been 
more  apparent  than  real.  His  argument  is  based  on 
the  assumption  that  many  members  of  the  Confeder- 
acy, from  time  to  time,  elected,  instead  of  contributions 
of  men  and  ships,  to  pay  over  their  equivalent  in 
money,  under  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  league. 
For  this  reason,  the  money  tribute  showed  an  increase. 
Just  prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  the  tax  aggregated  six  hundred  talents.  Before 
the  end  of  the  war,  the  amount  was  thirteen  hundred 
talents,  more  than  a  million  and  a  quarter  of  dollars. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  it  would  seem  that  the  conduct  of 
Athens,  in  appropriating  the  moneys  of  the  league  to 
its  own  aggrandizement,  after  the  object  for  which  the 
tax  originated,  no  longer  existed,  was  unfair  and  un- 
just, to  the  other  members  of  the  Confederacy.  Dis- 
content arose  and  caused  Naxos,  first  (B.  C.  466)  and 
then  Thasos  (B.  C.  465)  to  revolt.  They  were  kept  in 
subjection  by  the  Confederacy  and  were  taxed  to  sup- 
port the  armament  which  subdued  them. 

The  argument  of  Pericles  by  which  he  sought  to 
justify  his  course,  in  appropriating  the  money  from 
the  treasury  of  the  Confederacy,  will  not  bear  judicial 
scrutiny.  He  argued  that  Athens  was  not  obliged  to 
account  to  its  allies  for  moneys  paid  into  the  coffers  of 
the  league,  so  long  as  Athens  defended  her  allies,  and 
prevented  the  barbarians  from  attacking  them.  Many 
of  the  allies,  he  contended,  did  not  supply  one  horse, 
or  man,  or  ship,  but  money  only,  "  which  money,"  he 
said,  "  is  not  theirs  that  give  it,  but  theirs  that  receive 
it,  if  so  be,  they  perform  the  conditions  upon  which 
they  receive  it."  He  argued  also,  that  he  used  only 
the  surplus  over  and  above  what  was  actually  neces- 
sary for  military  purposes,  to  improve  and  adorn  the 
capital  of  the  Confederacy  so  as  to  reflect  eternal 
honor  and  credit  upon  all. 

Aristides  would,  doubtless,  had  he  lived,  have  char- 


POUCT   OF    PERICLES 


461 


acterized  this  argument  as  showing  a  course  of  conduct 
of  extreme  selfishness,  as  to  Athens,  and  as  most  unjust 
and  unfair  to  every  other  member  of  the  Confederacy. 
It  is  morally  certain  that  the  members  of  the  league 
would  never  have  voluntarily  consented  to  tax  them- 
selves to  build  temples  and  public  buildings  in  Athens. 
When  the  fear  of  Persian  invasion  ceased,  the  right  to 
levy  and  collect  the  tax  ceased  also. 

But,  as  has  been  observed,  the  formation  of  the  Con- 
federacy of  Delos,  was  the  nucleus  of  the  Athenian  em- 
pire. Athens,  as  the  head,  and  as  the  strongest  and 
most  influential  member  of  the  league,  used  the  organ- 
ization to  furnish  the  means  of  extending  and  strength- 
ening that  empire,  and  compelling  its  weaker  members 
to  contribute  annually  to  that  object.  Athens  argued 
also  that  in  its  strength,  the  weakest  ally  found  its  sure 
protection,  and  its  constant  defense. 

It  is  true  that  Pericles  was  ambitious ;  that  he  used 
the  moneys  contributed  by  the  allies  for  purposes 
other  than  that  for  which  they  were  contributed.  But 
Pericles,  in  addition  to  his  ambition,  possessed  also 
high  and  ardent  patriotism,  and  used  his  best  en- 
deavors to  make  the  Confederacy  not  an  Athenian 
league  merely,  but  to  have  it  become  universal  through- 
out Greece,  and  as  far  as  possible  pan-Hellenic  in  char- 
acter. He  knew,  perhaps,  better  than  any  man  of  his 
time,  that  the  struggle  between  Athens  and  the  Lace- 
daemonians was  bound  to  come.  He  did  all  in  his  power 
to  postpone  the  evil  day.  In  order,  if  possible,  to 
prevent  so  great  a  calamity  to  his  country,  he  sought 
a  remedy  by  attempting  to  unite  Greece.  To  this  end, 
the  assembly,  at  the  instance  of  Pericles,  passed  a  de- 
cree to  summon  to  Athens,  representatives  of  all 
Greeks,  whether  in  Europe  or  Asia,  to  a  general  as- 
sembly to  consult  and  advise  as  to  the  welfare  of 
Greece,  and  to  devise  ways  and  means  concerning  com- 
mercial intercourse,  and  the  navigation  of  the  sea,  that 


462 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


every  (Jreelc,  no  matter  from  what  part  of  the  world, 
might  pass  to  and  fro,  and  trade  securely,  and  be  at 
peace  among  themselves.  Commissioners  were  sent  out, 
pursuant  to  this  decree  among  the  lonians  and  Dorians 
in  Asia  Minor,  among  the  islands  on  its  western  shores, 
including  Lesbos  and  Rhodes;  into  Thrace,  along  the 
Hellespont,  and  to  Byzantium,  into  Boeotia  and  Phocis, 
into  the  Peloponnese  and  Thessaly,  and  into  Acarnania 
and  Ambracia.  These  commissioners  were  deputized  to 
induce  and  persuade  the  Greeks  they  visited  to  send 
representatives  to  Athens  to  take  part  in  the  great 
convention  called  to  settle  the  peace  and  regulate  the 
affairs  of  Greece. 

It  was  a  patriotic  and  highly  laudable  undertaking, 
worthy  of  the  genius  of  Pericles.  Had  success  crowned 
his  efforts,  there  would  have  been  no  Pcloponnesian  war, 
and  united  Greece  would  have  stood  against  the  world 
in  condition  to  anticipate  the  enterprises  of  Alexander, 
and  the  subsequent  dominion  of  the  Roman  empire. 
The  enterprise,  however,  was  thwarted,  by  the  envy 
and  jealousy,  which  the  oligarchical  Lacedemonians  al- 
ways entertained  towards  its  democratic  rival  in  Attica. 
Sparta  secretly  worked  against  Athens,  and  conspired 
to  destroy  any  prospect  of  Greek  unity,  determined 
never  to  follow  where  its  rival  led.  In  this  jealous 
rivalry  we  have  the  secret  of  the  downfall  of  Athens, 
and  the  ultimate  ruin  of  Greece.  The  Confederacy  of 
Delos  never  became  pan-Hellenic  as  originally  designed. 
It  remained  Athenian,  and  enabled  Athens  to  contend 
with  the  Lacedemonians  for  supremacy  for  twenty- 
seven  years,  until  exhausted  financially,  and  debauched 
and  corrupted  with  Persian  gold. 

During  the  first  ten  years  of  the  Confederacy,  its 
principal  achievements,  aside  from  its  efforts  to  rid 
the  -^gean  and  the  coasts  of  Hellas  and  Asia  Minor 
of  the  pirates,  which  preyed  on  the  commerce  of  Eu- 
rope and  Asia,  were  the  siege  and  capture  of  Eion  on 


ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CONFEDEEACY 


463 


the  river  Strymon  in  Thrace,  B.  C.  471  (q.  v.),  the  re- 
duction and  conquest  of  the  island  of  Scyros,  B.  C. 
470,  and  the  reduction  of  Carystus,  on  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  island  of  Euboea,  B.  C.  468  (q.  v.). 
Athens,  during  these  years,  had  dominated  the  Con- 
federacy, controlled  its  naval  forces  and  established  a 
maritime  empire.  In  B.  C.  466,  the  Persians  were  de- 
feated on  land  and  sea,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eurymedon, 
in  Pamphylia,  and  the  danger  to  Greece  and  its  msular 
possessions  from  Persian  invasion  was  at  an  end. 

The  contest  with  Sparta,  for  the  hegemony  on  land, 
which  followed,  are  known  as  the  Hellenic  wars,  which 
were   finally   concluded   after   the   Athenian   defeat   at 
Coron^a    (q.    v.).      After   this    disaster   Pericles    con- 
cluded the  treaty  known  as  the  "  Thirty  Years  Peace, 
B    C    445  (q.  v.),  which  postponed  the  Peloponnesian 
War' for  fifteen  years.     The  "Thirty  Years'  Peace, 
however,  was  finally  broken  at  Sybota,  B.  C  432  (q.  v  ), 
and  this  engagement  was  immediately  followed  by  the 
outbreak  of  the  Peloponnesian  war  at  Plat«a,  B.  U. 
431. 


CHAPTER    XXXI 


ARISTIDES 

HE  two  conspicuous  figures  in  the  Persian 
Wars,  after  Miltiades,  were  Themistocles  and 
Aristides.  They  fought  together  at  Mara- 
thon, and  in  the  naval  engagement  at 
Salamis.  Aristides  led  the  Athenians  at 
PIata?a,  and  m  conjunction  with  Pausanias  who  com- 
manded the  Laceda?monians  and  their  allies  in  that  bat- 
tle, accomplished  the  signal  defeat  of  Mardonius,  and 
drove  the  last  of  the  Persian  invaders  from  the  shores 
of  Hellas. 

These  distinguished  men  were  playmates  in  youth, 
and  political  rivals  through  life.  They  were  the  lead- 
mg  figures  in  the  stirring  scenes  enacted  after  the  de- 
feat of  Mardonius  at  Plata^a.  But  in  the  administra- 
tion of  civil  affairs,  the  patriotism,  purity  and  sterling 
integrity  of  Aristides,  is  in  striking  contrast  with  the 
avance,  dishonesty  and  treasonable  conduct  of  his 
contemporary.  Every  patriot  in  the  Athenian  com- 
monwealth applauded  the  rectitude  which  characterized 
the  public  services  of  Aristides.  He  was  universally  re- 
garded as  the  most  upright  and  unselfish  man  in  public 
life.  He  was  designated  by  his  fellow  citizens,  and  is 
known  to  posterity,  as  Aristides  the  just. 

The  most  valuable  service  rendered  "by  him,  as  a  civil 
magistrate,  was  rendered  after  the  Lacedemonians  had 
retired  from  the  active  prosecution  of  the  war  to  expel 
the  Persians  from  Asia  Minor  and  the  islands  of  the 
^gean  sea.     After  the  defeat  of  the  enemy  at  Mycale, 

j6d 


COMMENDED    FOR    HIS    JUSTICE 


46s 


the  Lacedflemonians  took  no  further  part  in  the  cam- 
paign and  returned  to  the  Peloponnesus.     The  Athe- 
nians,  under    the    command    of   Xanthippus,   however, 
continued  the  war  of  expulsion,  and  formed  a  league 
or  a   confederacy   with   the   lonians   and   those   in  the 
Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  and  not  many  months  after 
the  victory  at  Mycale  defeated  the  Persians  and  took 
the   city   of   Sestus   in    the   Hellespont.      This   league, 
known  as  the  Delian  Confederacy,  marked  a  new  era 
in  the  political  history  of  Athens  and  formed  the  basis 
of  conditions  which  subsequently  developed  in  the  up- 
building of  the  Athenian   empire.     This   Confederacy 
was  designed  to  protect  the  cities  in  the  .Egean  and  the 
coasts  of  Asia  Minor,  which  had  been  rescued  from  the 
oppression  of  the  Persian  monarch  from  falling  again 
under  the  dominion  of  the  Great  King.     Its  treasury 
was  established  on  the  sacred  island  of  Delos,  and  is 
known  in  history  as  the  Confederacy  of  Delos.     The 
purpose  of  the  Confederacy   was  to  equip   a  fleet  to 
be  used  at  all  times  to  police  the  M^ean  and  protect 
every    member   of   the   league    from    foreign    invasion. 
The  agreement  was  that  each  member  of  the  combina- 
tion should  contribute  its  pro  rata  share  of  ships  and 
men  to  carry  out  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  formed. 
Some  of  the  smaller  cities  were  so  poor  that  they  could 
contribute  only  part  of  the  expenses  of  fitting  out  a 
single  galley.     It  was  accordingly  agreed  that  those 
who   were    unable   to    furnish    ships    or    crews    should 
contribute  an  annual  sum  or  stipend  into  the  common 
treasury.     The  delicate  task  of  fixing  the  proportion- 
ate amount  to  be  contributed  by  each  City  or  State 
either  in   ships,  crews,   equipment  or  money,  was   by 
common  consent  delegated  to  Aristides,  who  was  uni- 
versally commended  for  his  justice  and  impartiality. 
In  the  execution  of  his  great  task  he  assessed  the  valu- 
ation  of  the  wealth   of   the  various   members   of  the 
league,  and  the  amount  each  should  contribute.     His 


466 


MIUTAKY    ANNAI^    OF    GREECE 


decision  was  regarded  as  eminently  just  and  fair,  was 
accepted  by  all  parties  in  interest  and  thereafter  con- 
tmued  m  force  for  half  a  century. 

The  envious  and  jealous  disposition  of  his  country- 
men   as    distinguished    from   their   patriotic   devotion, 
when   threatened   with   foreign    invasion,   is   shown   by 
thfir   conduct   towards    Aristides    who    was    ostracized 
about  483  B.  C,  three  years  before  the  battle  of  Sal- 
amis.     Others  had  been  banished  for  political  activity 
by  reason  of  which  it  was  asserted  they  might  become 
dangerous    to    the    State.      Aristides    was    ostracized 
chiefly  at  the  instigation  of  Themistocles,  his  political 
rival,  and  one  of  the  most  unscrupulous  men  in  public 
life.      Unfortunately,  Aristides,   while   performing  his 
duties  as  magistrate,  frequently  heard  causes  in  private. 
1  he  custom  was  exceedingly  pernicious,  because  while 
practised    by   one   of   unsullied    reputation    and    strict 
probity,  the  custom,  if  it  became  universal,  was  likely 
to  leaxi  to  grave  abuses,  because  of  the  opportunities  it 
afforded  to  an   unscrupulous  judge  to  enrich  himself 
and  corrupt  the  fountain  of  justice.     Such  a  thing  as 
a  private  Court  cannot  exist  in  a  free  State.    In  a  later 
age  the  Court  of  Star  Chamber  cost  Charles  I  his  head. 
1  hemistocles,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  popular  demo- 
cratic party,  declared  that  this  practice  was  resorted 
to  by  Aristides  to  destroy  the  Courts  of  judicature 
and  pave  the  way  for  a  monarchy  in  his  own  person. 
He  stirred  up  such  a  feeling  of  resentment  against  his 
rival  that  some  even  declared  they  were  weary  of  hear- 
ing him  extolled  for  his  virtues,  and  called  "  the  just  " 
Following  the  lead  of  Themistocles  the  electorate  based 
their    action    against    Aristides,    ostensibly    upon    the 
ground  that  the  latter  sought  to  displace  the  democ- 
racy and  establish  in  its  stead  a  monarchical  form  of 
government. 

The  principal  service  rendered  by  Aristides  at  the 
battle  of  Salamis  was  on  the  islet  of  Psyttalea,  which 


AEISTIDES    AT    PSYTTALEA 


467 


lies  between  the  Piraeus  and  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
island  of  Salamis.     It  is  low  and  rocky,  clothed  with 
shrubs,  and  is  about  a  mile  in  length,  and  not  more  than 
two  or  three  hundred  yards  broad.^     By  a  clever  piece 
of  strategy,  Themistocles  sent  his  slave  Sicinnus  to  the 
enemy's   fleet   as   a  pretended   spy.      He  informed  the 
Persian  admiral  that  the  Greeks  were  disheartened  and 
intended  to  escape  from  the  straits  at  dawn  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  and  if  Xerxes  would  block  both  ends 
of   the   channel  with   his  fleet,   the   Greeks,  who   were 
greatly  discouraged  would  surrender  rather  than  risk 
a  fight,  as  their  ships  were  outnumbered  more  than  two 
to  one.     Xerxes  accordingly  landed  a  large  body  of 
troops  on  Psyttalea,  and  then  about  an  hour  before 
midnight   the    Persians    advanced   their   western    wing 
towards  Salamis  (Herod,  vii,  76).     Those  who  had  been 
stationed  on  this  rocky  bar  at  the  extremity  of  Salamis, 
consisted  of  a  select  body  of  the  bravest  of  the  native 
Persians   among   whom,   Plutarch   says,   were   men   of 
high  rank,  including  three  nephews  of  Xerxes,  the  sons 
of  his  sister  Sandaucc.     Near  the  close  of  the  engage- 
ment, in  order  that  none  of  the  enemy  marooned  at 
Psyttalea  might  escape,  Aristides  took  a  body  of  heavy 
armed   Athenians   who   had   been   stationed   along   the 
shore  of  Salamis,  and  made  a  descent  on  the  little  island 
and  slew  all  the  Persians  who  occupied  it  (Herod,  viii, 
95).     The  attack  by  Aristides  began  late  in  the  day, 
and  the  slaughter  continued 

"  Till  all,  'neath  eye  of  swarthy  night  was  lost." 

The  massacre  of  those  near  and  dear  to  him  took 
place  under  the  eye  of  Xerxes  himself,  who  witnessed  it 
from  his  golden  throne  on  the  heights  of  Attica,  and 
caused  him  to  weep  and  tear  his  garments  m  rage  and 
despair.      This   assault  by   Aristides   at   Psyttalea   is 

» Leake,  Demi  of  Attica,  p.  267. 


468 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


thus  graphicaUj  described  by  ^schjlus  in  his  poem 
entitled  "  The  Persians."  It  will  be  remembered  that 
the  poet  himself  took  part  in  the  battle,  and  was  an 
eje-witness  to  what  he  describes. 

The  drama  opens  with  a  chorus  reciting  the  Per- 
sian conquests,  while  awaiting  the  tidings  from  Xerxes' 
fleet  and  army.  Atossa,  the  Queen-mother,  enters,  and 
recites  her  dreams  and  dismal  forebodings  for  the 
safety  of  her  son.  A  messenger  approaches  as  the 
chorus  sings: 


<( 


For  here  a  courier  speedeth.  whose  gait  proclaimeth  him 
Persian,  and  he  will  bring  us  clear  news  of  weal  or  woe. 


The  messenger  enters  and  proceeds  to  recite  the  mis- 
fortune that  befell  his  countrymen.     He  declares : 

"  Corpses  of  men  ill-fated  choke  the  coasts 
Of  Salamis,  and  all  the  region  near." 

He  then  proceeds  to  give  an  account  of  the  engage- 
ment. As  to  the  number  of  vessels  the  messenger,  ad- 
dressing Atossa,  thus  proceeds : 

**  Had  conquest  waited  upon  numbers,  queen. 
Then  Persia's  ships  were  victor,  for  the  fleet 
Of  Hellas  counted  but  three  hundred  ships, 
And  other  ten  selected,  in  reserve. 
But  Xerxes,  this  I  know  led  fifty  score. 
While  those  for  swiftness  most  preeminent 
Two  hundred  were  and  seven." 

He  then  gives  a  detailed  description  of  the  battle, 
including  an  account  of  the  stratagem  of  Themistocles 
in  sending  Sicinnus,  a  pretended  spy,  to  the  Persian 
fleet. 

The  attack  on  the  islet  of  Psyttalea,  which  was  led 
by  Aristides,  he  thus  describes  to  queen  Atossa : 


iESCHYLUs'    DESCEIPTION  OF    SALAMIS  469 

An  isle  there  is  that  fronteth  Salamis, 

Small,  with  bad  anchorage,  whose  sea-washed  beach 

Dance-loving  Pan  doth  haunt;   thither  the  King 

Sendeth  these  chiefs,  that,  when  the  worsted  foe 

Should  in  the  isle  seek  safety,  Persia's  sons 

Might  slay  the  host  of  Hellas,  easy  prey. 

And  from  the  briny  channels  save  their  friends, 

Ill-guessing  the  to-come;    for  when  the  god 

The  Hellenes  crowned  with  glory  of  the  fight. 

On  that  same  day,  with  shields  of  well-wrought  brass 

Fencing  their  bodies,  from  their  ships  they  leapt. 

And  the  whole  isle  encompassed;   so  our  men 

Knew  not  which  way  to  turn;   oft-time  by  stones 

Pelted  from  foeman's  hand,  while  arrows  keen. 

Thick  raining  from  the  bow-string,  smote  them  down; 

Rushing  at  last  with  simultaneous  shout. 

The  Hellenes  hacked  and  carved  the  victims*  limbs. 

Till  they,  poor  wretches,  all  of  life  were  reaved. 

But  Xerxes  groaned,  seeing  the  depth  of  ills; 

For  on  a  lofty  height,  hard  by  the  sea, 

His  seat  he  held,  o'erlooking  all  the  host 

His  garments  rending,  a  shrill  cry  he  raised, 

To  his  land  troops  forthwith  dispatch'd  command, 

And  sped  in  flight  disordered.    Thine  it  is 

To  wail  this  sorrow  added  to  the  first 

The  character  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  who  were  ex- 
ceedingly jealous  and  envious,  as  contrasted  with  the 
staunch  patriotism  and  sterling  integrity  of  Aristides, 
and  the  Athenians,  whom  he  was  chosen  to  represent, 
is  illustrated  by  an  incident  which  occurred  shortly  be- 
fore the  battle  of  Plataea  under  the  following  circum- 
stances. 

Xerxes,  after  his  defeat  at  Salamis,  became  panic- 
stricken.  His  brother,  Ariabignes,  who  commanded  his 
fleet,  was  killed  in  that  engagement,  and  others  of  his 
royal  house,  including  three  of  his  nephews,  were  slain 
or  taken  prisoners  on  the  islet  of  Psyttalea.  He  be- 
came solicitous  about  his  personal  safety,  for,  after 
all,  Xerxes  was  a  coward.  Notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  his  land  forces,  now  stationed  in  Attica,  constituted 
the  most  formidable  body  of  troops  ever  assembled,  had 
not  been  engaged  at  all  at  Salamis;  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  not  more  than  a  third  of  his  great  fleet 


470 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


ADVICE    OF   ARISTIDES 


471 


had  been  disabled  in  the  sea-fight  with  Themistocles ; 
notwithstanding  all  this,  fear  seized  upon  the  heart  of 
Xerxes.     He  thought  only  of  his  personal  safety,  for 
what  if  the  cunning  and  crafty  Hellenes,  in  their  swift 
ships  should  speed  to  the  Hellespont,  and  destroy  the 
bridge  of  boats  over  which  his  countless  myriads  had 
poured  for  seven  days  and  seven  nights  from  the  shores 
of  Asia   to   the   shores   of   Europe.      Once   his   father 
Darius,  with  a  great  army,  had  crossed  the  Ister  (Dan- 
ube), on  a  bridge  of  boats,  and  after  a  fruitless  cam- 
paign in  Scythia  hurried  back  to  the  river,  and  made 
good    his    retreat    over    the    bridge,    which    had    been 
guarded  in  his  absence,  to  his  own  dominions.     His  con- 
sternation, however,  he  concealed  from  the  Greeks  and 
from  his  own  people  (Her.  viii,  97).     Mardonius,  who 
commanded  his  land  forces  was  a  man  of  spirit  and  per- 
sonal courage.     He  perceived  that  Xerxes  took  his  de- 
feat greatly  to  heart,  and  suspecting  that  he  intended 
to  return  to  Asia,  and  fearing  lest  he  might  be  punished 
for  having  persuaded  the  King  to  undertake  the  war, 
he  concluded  to  either  conquer  Greece  or  perish  glori- 
ously in  aspiring  to  surh  a  noble  achievement.     He  con- 
ferred with  Xerxes,  and  suggested  the  further  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war,  but  if  the  King  desired  to  return  to 
Asia,  with  the  main  body  of  his  troops,  he  asked  to  be 
permitted  to  choose  300,000  men  to  remain,  and  avenge 
Salamis,  and  conquer  Greece.     This  plan  was  adopted 
and  Xerxes,  late  in   September,  or  early  in   October, 
B.  C.  480,  departed  for  his  own  dominions. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  account 
given  by  Herodotus  of  the  conduct  of  Xerxes,  who,  be- 
fore acting  on  the  suggestion  of  Mardonius,  that  he 
return  to  Asia,  sought  the  advice  of  a  woman.  Arte- 
misia, queen  of  Halicarnassus,  was  the  only  one  of  his 
commanders  who  advised  against  the  engagement  at 
Salamis.  He  was  secretly  overjoyed  at  the'prospect  of 
abandoning   the    campaign,    but    for    appearance-sake 


conferred  with  his  commanders,  and  to  Artemisia,  he 
gave  a  private  audience.  She  told  him  that  under  the 
circumstances  it  would  be  proper  for  him  to  withdraw 
from  the  field  of  operations  and  return  to  Susa.  That 
he  should  defer  to  the  wishes  of  Mardonius,  who  re- 
quested permission  to  remain  and  prosecute  the  war. 
If  he  succeeded,  well.  If  he  failed,  it  was  no  great  loss, 
so  long  as  the  King's  person  was  safe.  She  continued 
with  this  amazing  declaration,  which  serves  to  indicate 
the  manners  of  the  age,  and  the  power  of  the  Great 
King  over  the  lives  of  his  most  distinguished  subjects 
and  illustrious  generals,  who  were  but  slaves  and  chat- 
tels. "  If  Mardonius  fall,"  she  continued,  "  it  matters 
nothing  —  they  will  have  gained  but  a  poor  triumph  — 
a  victory  over  one  of  thy  slaves !  Remember,  also,  thou 
goest  home  having  gained  the  purpose  of  thy  expedi- 
tion, for  thou  hast  burnt  Athens."  (Herod,  viii,  102.) 
To  Aristides,  also,  was  due  the  sage  advice  which 
probably  saved  Greece  after  the  battle  of  Salamis. 
Themistocles  conferred  with  Aristides  and  advised  that 
the  Athenians  proceed  with  expedition  and  destroy 
the  bridge  of  boats  over  the  Hellespont,  before  the  ar- 
rival of  Xerxes,  and  make  Asia  a  prisoner  within  the 
confines  of  Europe.  Aristides,  however,  saw  danger  in 
the  plan.  He  reminded  Themistocles  that  the  Greeks 
had  fought  an  enemy,  who  regarded  his  expedition  as 
a  holiday  excursion,  and  cared  for  nothing  but  pleas- 
ure and  luxury.  If  the  Greeks  should  close  the  gate- 
way leading  from  Europe,  the  enemy  would  be  driven 
by  necessity.  "  Xerxes,"  he  said,  "  was  master  of  such 
great  forces  that  he  will  no  longer  sit  quietly  with  an 
umbrella  of  gold  over  his  head,  looking  upon  the  fight 
for  his  pleasure.  In  such  a  strait  he  will  attempt  al- 
most anything.  He  will  be  resolute  and  appear  himself 
in  person  upon  all  occasions.  He  will  correct  his  errors 
and  supply  what  he  has  formerly  omitted  through  re- 
missness and  will  be  better  advised  in  all  things.     It  is 


472 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


not  to  our  interest,  therefore,  to  take  away  the  bridge, 
that  is  already  made,  but  rather  to  build  another  if  it 
were  possible  that  he  might  make  his  retreat  with  the 
more  expedition."     Themistocles  deferred  to  the  better 
judgment  of  Aristides,  and  devised  a  plan  to  get  rid 
of  Xerxes  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.    He  resorted 
again  to  strategy,  and  found  among  his  captives  one 
of  the  King's  eunuchs,  whom   he   sent  to  inform  his 
master  that  the  Greeks  intended  to  sail  with  all  dispatch 
and  destroy  the  bridge  of  boats  over  the  Hellespont. 
He  bade  the  messenger  declare  further  to  Xerxes,  that 
Themistocles  was  secretly  concerned  for  his  safety,  and 
for  that  reason  had  urged  the  eunuch  to  tell  his  master 
to  make  haste,  and  pass  over  into  his  own  dominions, 
and  in  the  meantime  Themistocles  would  do  all  in  his' 
power  to  delay  or  hinder  his  countrymen  from  pursu- 
ing him. 

In  the  spring,  479  B.  C,  Mardonius,  before  he  ad- 
vanced  his    army   from    Thessaly,   sent   Alexander   of 
Macedon,  as  his  ambassador  to  bring  about  an  alliance 
between  the  Persians  and  Athenians  whereby  the  latter 
should  remain  a  free  State,  and  stipulated  further  that 
the  temples   which   Xerxes   had  burned  should   be   re- 
stored.    When  the  Laceda?monians  learned  that  Mar- 
donius sought  such  an  alliance,  they  became  alarmed 
and  sent  representatives  to  Athens,  to  seek  to  defeat 
the  plans  of  Mardonius.    After  hearing  both  Alexander 
and  tlie  Spartan  ambassadors,  the  Athenians  resolved 
to  reject   the   overtures   of  Mardonius,  and  Aristides 
was  chosen  to  prepare  the  decree,  and  declare  the  de- 
cision.     He   told  Alexander,   that   the   Athenians   well 
knew  the  power  of  the  Medes,  and  it  was  not  necessary 
to   have   that   fact   paraded   and   cast   in   their   teeth. 
Their  love  of  liberty  was  so  great  that  they  would  offer 
whatever  resistance  they  could  to  the  armies  of  Persia. 
That  all  efforts  to  dissuade  the  Athenians  from  their 
firm  resolution  would  be  worse  than  useless.     "  Go  tell 


ANSWER    OF    ARISTIDES 


473 


f 


I 


Mardonius,"  he  said,  "  that  this  is  the  answer  of  the 
Athenians.  So  long  as  the  sun  keeps  on  his  present 
course,  we  will  never  form  an  alliance  with  Xerxes.  On 
the  contrary,  we  will  oppose  him  unceasingly,  trusting 
in  the  aid  of  tlie  gods  and  heroes,  whom  he  has  lightly 
esteemed,  and  whose  images  and  temples  he  has  burnt 
with  fire.  Come  among  us  no  more,  therefore,  to  seek 
to  persuade  us  to  unholy  actions.  You,  Alexander, 
are  our  guest,  and  friend  of  our  nation,  and  no  harm 
shall  befall  you  at  our  hands."     (Herod,  viii,  143.) 

Then  addressing  the  Lacedaemonians  Aristides  ob- 
served that  the  fear  they  entertained  that  the  Athe- 
nians might  make  terms  with  the  barbarians  was  a  base 
fear.  "  Not  all  the  gold  that  earth  contains,"  he  said, 
"  not  the  fairest  and  most  fertile  of  all  lands,  would 
bribe  us  to  take  part  with  the  Medes,  and  help  them  to 
enslave  our  countrymen.  While  one  Athenian  remains 
alive,  we  will  never  form  an  alliance  with  Xerxes." 
(Herod,  viii,  144.) 

Alexander  afterwards  remembered  the  kind  words  of 
Aristides  and  rendered  him  valuable  service  by  disclo- 
sing to  him  important  information  at  the  battle  of 
Plataea.  After  one  of  the  preliminary  skirmishes,  in 
which  the  Persian  cavalry  commander  Masistius  lost 
his  life,  and  the  days  of  mourning  for  that  gallant 
officer  were  over,  Mardonius  determined  to  bring  on  an 
engagement.  The  soothsayers,  consulting  the  sacrifices 
foretold  victory  both  to  Greeks  and  Persians,  provided 
they  stood  upon  the  defensive,  but  disaster  if  they 
made  the  initial  assault.  But  the  Persians  had  now 
only  a  scant  supply  of  provisions.  After  consulting 
his  officers,  Mardonius  resolved  to  cross  the  Asopus  at 
daybreak  the  next  morning,  and  make  an  unexpected 
attack  on  the  enemy.  About  midnight,  Alexander  of 
Macedon  stole  into  the  Greek  camp,  and  desired  the 
guard  to  send  for  Aristides,  the  Athenian,  to  whom  he 
disclosed  the  enemy's  plans.    "  I  arrived  here,"  he  said 


474 


MILITAHY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


to   Aristidcs,   "through   the   greatest  dangers   in    the 
world  for  the  good-will  I  bear  you  lest  you  should  be 
dismayed  by  a  sudden  onset  of  the  enemy.     To-mor- 
row Mardonius  will  give  you  battle,  urged,  not  by  any 
hope  of  success,  but  by  want  of  victuals.    The  prophets 
prohibit  him  the  battle,  the  sacrifices  and  oracles  being 
unfavorable,  the  army  is  in  despondency  and  consterna- 
tion;   but  necessity  forces  him  to  try  his  fortune,  or 
sit  still  and  endure  the  last  extremity  of  want."     (Plu- 
tarch—Aristides. )     Thus  warned  the  Greeks  gave  or- 
ders to  the  captains,  and  the  army  was  put  in  position 
to  resist  the  assault  Mardonius  had  planned,  at  day- 
break on  the  following  morning.    The  battle  was  joined 
as  expected  and  the  result  was  the  utter  defeat  and  rout 
of  the  Persians.     Mardonius  was  killed  while  leading 
a  charge  at  the  head  of  a  select  body  of  cavalry.    Thus 
were  the  liberties  of  Greece  preserved  at  Platsa. 

Aristides  was  the  son  of  Lysimachus  of  the  tribe  of 
Antiochis.     We  have  no  precise  data  from  which   to 
determine  accurately  the  year  of  his  birth,  or  the  date 
or  place  of  his  death.     Plutarch  tells  us  that,  accord- 
ing to  some,  he  died  in  Pontus  in  Asia,  while  on  public 
business ;  others  that  he  died  in  Athens  of  old  age.    He 
was  a  friend  of  Clisthenes  and  supported  him  in  the 
revolution  which  resulted  in  the  ovei  throw  of  the  Alc- 
m«onidae,  the  abolition  of  the  constitution  of  Solon, 
and  the  establishment  of  the  ten  tribes.     These  changes 
occurred  about  twenty  years  before  the  battle  of  Mara- 
thon.    He  must  have  been  a  very  young  man  at  that 
time,  perhaps  not  more  than  twenty-one.     If  this  as- 
sumption is  correct  he  was  born  about  531  B.  C,  and 
consequently  he  was  forty-one,  when  he  held  the  office 
of  strategus,  and  led  his  tribe  at  Marathon.    Plutarch 
says  his  monument  in  his  day  was  to  be  seen  at  Phale- 
rum.     It  was  erected  by  the  city,  he  having  left  no 
property,  not  even  sufficient  to  defray  his  funeral  ex- 
penses.    He  was  survived  by  two  daughters,  who  it  is 


HIS    DESCENDANTS 


475 


said  were  endowed  from  the  public  treasury  by  a  grate- 
ful people.  These  details,  however,  are  based  largely 
on  conjecture.  We  have  no  authentic  or  positive  in- 
formation on  which  to  base  a  detailed  account  of  his 
declining  years,  the  circumstances  of  his  death  or  the 
fortune  of  his  descendants. 


ACHIEVEMENTS    OF    CIMON 


477 


CHAPTER    XXXII 

ATHENS,    UNDER    CIMON,    BECOMES    A    MARITIME 

POWER 

HE    Confederacy    of    Deles,    sketched    in    a 
preceding  chapter,  was  organized  under  the 
guidance  of  Aristides.     His  superior  wisdom, 
impartiality,  and  absolute  integrity  enabled 
hnn  to  win  the  confidence  and  respect  of  all 
parties  to  the  alliance.     It  was  Aristides  who  adjusted 
the  quota  which  each  member  should  contribute  to  the 
Confederacy.     We  have  no  knowledge  as  to  the  length 
of  time  required  to   perfect  the   organization   of  this 
alliance  among  the  Greek  states.     Although  the  league 
was  projected  B.  C.   478,   it  was   seven  years  before 
anything  definite  was  accomplished,  if  we  assume  the 
siege  of  Eion  was  the  first  achievement  under  it,  as 
that  event  occurred  about  B.  C.  471.     The  formation 
of  this  league  was  the  last  great  service  rendered  by 
Aristides  in  behalf  of  his  countrymen.     At  his  solicita- 
tion he  was  succeeded  as  admiral  by  Cimon,  the  son  of 
Miltiades. 

Next  to  Themistocles,  Cimon  was  the  most  distin- 
guished admiral  in  Hellenic  annals.  Supported  by  the 
resources  of  Athens,  and  her  allies  under  the  Confed- 
eracy of  Delos,  Cimon  succeeded  not  only  in  expelling 
the  Persians  from  Thrace  and  Macedonia  and  the 
islands  of  the  JEgean  sea,  but  the  success  of  his  arms 
at  the  Eurymedon,  enabled  Athens  also  to  become  mas- 
ter of  the  western  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  Under  Cimon 
the  JEgean  became  a  closed  sea,  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Attic  commonwealth. 

476 


i 


Our  knowledge  of  the  chronology  of  the  events  which 
occurred  from  the  reduction  of  Byzantium,  B.  C.  478, 
and  the  battle  of  the  Eurymedon,  B.  C.  466,  is  rather 
vague  and  unsatisfactory.  The  information  we  have 
is  derived  chiefly  from  Thucydides  (i,  98),  who  men- 
tions briefly  the  achievements  of  Cimon,  in  the  follow- 
ing order.  The  first  victory  he  says  was  the  reduction 
of  Eion,  on  the  Strymon,  which  was  in  possession  of 
the  Medes  which  was  taken  after  a  siege.  This  was 
probably  B.  C.  471.  Then  the  island  of  Scyros  was 
taken  from  the  Dolopian  pirates  and  colonized  b}' 
Athenian  kleruchs.  This  event  was  supposed  to  have 
occurred  B.  C.  470.  Then  war  was  waged  against  the 
Carystians  on  the  island  of  Eubcea,  who  surrendered, 
reserving  certain  conditions  B.  C.  468.  Naxos  then 
revolted  from  the  Delian  Confederacy  and  was  sub- 
jugated B.  C.  466,  the  year  in  which  Cimon  achieved 
his  double  victory  on  the  Eurymedon  in  Pamphylia. 
Cimon  then  took  the  island  of  Thasos,  the  second  mem- 
ber of  the  Confederacy  to  secede  B.  C.  465.  The  occu- 
pation of  this  island  led  to  the  colonization  of  the 
mainland  in  Thrace  near  Thasos. 

A  review  of  these  achievements  in  their  order  will 
show  the  successive  steps  by  which  the  power  and  in- 
fluence of  Athens  was  attained.  First  as  to  Eion,  a 
Persian  stronghold  in  Thrace,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Strymon,  on  the  Gulf  of  Strymon,  in  the  upper  ^gean, 
or  Sea  of  Thrace.  The  objective  point  of  Xerxes 
when  he  invaded  Greece  was  Athens.  The  Persian  mon- 
arch assumed  that  when  he  had  reduced  that  city  and 
conquered  the  Peloponnesians,  his  task  would  be  ac- 
complished, because  Athens  and  Sparta  were  practically 
the  only  cities  in  Hellas  which  refused  to  recognize  his 
authority.  Nearly  all  the  other  states  in  Greece  had 
acknowledged  his  sovereignty.  Many  cities  sent  her- 
alds to  the  Persian  ambassadors,  bearing  earth  and 
water,  symbols  of  obedience  and  loyalty  to  the  Gr^at 


fll.ll 


III 


4?8 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


King.  Not  only  were  there  Persian  sympathizers  and 
allies  on  the  Hellenic  peninsula,  but  in  Thrace  on  the 
Hellespont,  and  in  a  number  of  the  islands  of  the 
Mge&n,  the  Medes  had  established  themselves. 

In  this  connection  Herodotus  (viii,  106,  107)  ob- 
serves, "  Before  the  invasion  of  Xerxes,  there  were  Per- 
sian commanders  and  garrisons  everywhere  in  Thrace, 
and  the  Hellespont,  all  of  whom  were  conquered  by  the 
Greeks,  after  that  invasion,  with  the  single  exception 
of  Mascamcs,  governor  of  Doriscus,  who  could  never 
be  taken,  though  many  attempts  were  made  upon  the 
fortress.  Of  those  who  were  captured  by  the  Greeks, 
not  one  made  any  defense  sufficient  to  attract  the  ad- 
miration of  Xerxes,  except  Boges,  governor  of  Eion." 
Herodotus  tells  us  that  Xerxes  never  ceased  to  praise 
Boges,  because  that  commander  might  have  capitu- 
lated, surrendered  Eion,  and  marched  out  unharmed 
and  returned  to  Asia,  but  he  would  not,  lest  the  King 
should  think  he  saved  his  life  through  cowardice. 

The  fate  of  Boges  was  weird  and  dramatic.  When 
all  provisions  were  exhausted  and  there  was  nothing 
left  to  eat,  Boges  deliberately  raised  a  great  pile,  which 
he  set  on  fire.  Next  he  slew  his  children,  his  wife,  his 
concubines  and  his  servants  and  threw  their  bodies  in 
the  fire.  He  then  threw  all  the  gold  and  silver  in  the 
tower  from  the  fort  into  the  Strymon.  Boges  then  cast 
himself  into  the  flames  and  was  consumed.  Thus  per- 
ished Boges  in  the  flames  at  Eion,  as  did  Sardanapalus 
at  Nineveh,  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  earlier. 

Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Cimon,  says  that  the  latter 
not  only  took  Eion,  but  also  conquered  the  neighboring 
country.  First  he  defeated  the  Persians  in  battle  and 
shut  them  up  within  the  walls  of  their  town.  He  then 
fell  upon  the  Thracians  in  the  country  beyond  the 
Strymon,  which  furnished  food  to  the  town,  drove  out 
the  inhabitants  and  took  possession  as  conqueror. 
Having  cut  off  all  supplies,  Eion  was  reduced  to  starva- 


REDUCTION    OF    SCYROS 


479 


tion.  Afterwards  in  this  territory,  Athens  built  the 
City  of  Amphlpolis,  on  the  site  of  tlie  Thracian  town 
called  the  Nine  Ways. 

Athens  appreciated  the  valuable  services  rendered 
by  Cimon  in  conquering  Eion,  and  the  adjacent  terri- 
tory which  contained  among  its  vakiable  resources,  rich 
mines  of  gold  and  silver.  In  commemoration  of  this 
victory,  the  people  pennitted  a  stone  to  be  erected  and 
to  have  inscribed  thereon  these  lines  in  honor  of  the 
men  who  fought  there: 

Of  bold  and  patient  spirit,  too,  were  those. 
Who,  where  the  Strymon  under  Eion  flows. 
With  famine  and  the  sword,  to  utmost  need 
Reduced  at  last  the  children  of  the  Mede. 

The  next  recorded  achievement  of  Cimon  was  the 
reduction  of  the  island  of  Scyros,  supposed  to  have 
taken  place  the  following  year,  B.  C.  470.  It  occupied 
an  isolated  position  in  the  .Kgcan  about  fifty  miles  east 
of  the  northerly  point  of  Euboea  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  south  of  tlie  island  of  Thasos.  It  is  about 
fifteen  miles  long,  and  from  two  to  five  miles  wide. 

It  is  not  probable  that  a  battle  took  place  when 
Scyros  was  reduced,  because  the  inhabitants  had  in- 
voked the  aid  of  Cimon,  whom  they  invited  to  succor 
them  from  the  judgment  and  fine  pronounced  against 
them  by  the  Amphictyonic  Synod  on  conviction  for 
piracy.  The  inhabitants  of  Scyros  were  Dolopians,  a 
barbarous  and  cruel  people,  who  neglected  all  hus- 
bandry and  devoted  themselves  to  piracy,  which  they 
had  carried  on  for  generations.  Some  merchants  from 
Thessaly  had  come  to  the  shores  near  the  harbor  of 
Ctesium.  They  were  set  upon  and  robbed  of  their 
goods,  and  contrary  to  the  usual  rules  of  piracy,  in 
those  days,  were  also  imprisoned.  Having  escaped 
from  the  island,  these  Thessalians  appealed  to  the 
Amphictyonic  council  of  which  not  only  the  Thessalians 


I 


48o 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


EECOVERY    OF    BONES    OF    THESEUS 


481 


but  the  Dolopes  themselves  were  members.  The  Dolo- 
pian  pirates  were  directed  to  make  public  restitution 
of  the  plunder.  Rather  than  abide  by  the  decree,  fear- 
ing doubtless  personal  violence,  the  Dolopians  appealed 
to  Cimon  to  succor  them  with  his  fleet;  and  to  secure 
their  own  safety,  declared  themselves  ready  to  deliver 
their  town  into  his  hands. 

The  ^gean  sea,  at  this  time,  was  guarded  by  the 
fleet  collected  by  the  Confederacy  of  Delos,  under  the 
leadership  of  Athens,  whose  generals  were  in  command. 
Hence  this  period,  between  the  expulsion  of  Xerxes  and 
the  Peloponnesian  War,  is  designated  as  the  period  of 
the  Athenian  hegemony,  and  later,  the  Athenian  Em- 
pire, as  her  power  and  influence  increased  from  time  to 
time.  Her  efforts  to  augment  her  supremacy  is  shown 
in  the  instance  of  Scyros,  for  Cimon,  when  he  took  pos- 
session of  the  island,  expelled  the  barbarous  and 
piratical  Dolopians,  and  it  was  immediately  colonized 
and  inhabited  by  Athenian  kleruchs,  or  out-citizens. 

Scyros  now  belonged  to  Athens.  Its  possession  was 
associated  with  sacred  memories,  because  within  ifcs 
rocky  bosom  reposed  the  ashes  of  Theseus,  the  most 
famous  of  Attic  Kings,  the  mythical  hero  of  Attic 
legend,  the  champion  of  liberty  and  friend  of  the  op- 
pressed. He  it  was  who  killed  the  flame-spitting  bull  of 
Marathon ;  and,  with  the  aid  of  Ariadne,  slew  the  Mino- 
taur, the  monster  King  Minos  had  confined  in  the  laby- 
rinth of  Crete,  and  relieved  Athens  of  her  mournful 
tribute  of  daring  youths  and  blushing  maidens.  The 
memory  of  Theseus  furnished  the  inspiration  for  Athe- 
nian valor.  When  the  fate  of  Greece  hung  in  the 
balance  on  that  memorable  day  at  Marathon,  the  Athe- 
nians thought  they  saw  an  apparition  and  beheld 
Theseus  in  full  armor,  charging  at  their  head  against 
the  Persians. 

B.  C.   476,  the  Athenians  were  commanded  by  the 
oracle  at  Delphi  to  bring  home  the  bones  of  Theseus 


from  Scyros.  It  was  extremely  difficult  to  recover  the 
rehcs,  or  find  the  spot  where  his  ashes  reposed,  on  ac- 
count of  the  inhospitable  and  savage  temper  of  the 
barbarous  people  who  inhabited  the  island.  When 
Cimon  took  Scyros,  his  first  ambition  was  to  find  the 
remains  of  the  hero.  Plutarch  says,  that  in  his  search 
for  the  tomb  he  was  aided  by  an  eagle,  which  he  saw 
upon  rising  ground  pecking  with  her  beak,  and  tearing 
up  the  earth  with  her  talons.  Believing  this  to  be  by 
divine  direction  to  aid  him  in  his  search,  Cimon  dug  up 
the  spot  indicated  by  the  eagle,  and  found  "  a  coffin  of 
a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  size,  a  brazen  spear  head, 
and  a  sword  lying  by  it."  These  he  took  to  Athens, 
and  the  remains  were  received  with  splendid  processions, 
and  sacrifices  as  if  it  were  Theseus  returning  alive  to 
the  city.  His  tomb  is  in  the  temple  of  Theseus  which 
still  stands  near  the  ancient  agora,  one  of  the  most 
memorable  monuments  of  antiquity. 

Cimon  then  chastised  the  inhabitants  of  Carystus  for 
some  delinquency  concerning  which  we  have  no  detailed 
information.  Nor  do  we  know  the  precise  date  of  this 
event.  In  tha*  day  Carystus  was  one  of  the  four  prin- 
cipal cities  on  the  island  of  Euboea,  and  was  situated  at 
its  southern  extremity  at  the  head  of  a  deep  bay.  The 
city  farthest  north  was  the  ancient  Histia3otis,  near  the 
headland  of  Artemisia.  Eretria  was  on  the  west  coast, 
a  short  distance  north  of  the  bay  of  Marathon.  Chalcis 
was  at  the  Euripus  on  the  west  coast,  the  narrowest 
part  of  the  Euboean  channel.  All  we  know  about  the 
attack  of  Cimon  on  Carystus  is  what  Thucydides  tells 
us,  namely,  that  they  surrendered  on  conditions.  What 
these  conditions  were  we  are  not  informed. 

About  the  time  when  Athens  added  the  island  of 
Scyros  to  her  dominions,  discontent  arose  among  the 
allies  under  the  Confederacy  of  Delos.  The  island  of 
Naxos  seceded  from  the  league  B.  C.  466.  How  long 
this  discontent  existed,  prior  to  the  rebellion  of  Naxos, 


482 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


we  have  no  means  of  knowing.     Perhaps  the  allies  saw 
that  the  Confederacy  was  being  used  by  Athens  for  her 
own  aggrandizement  in  order  that  she  might  build  up 
an  empire,  at  their  expense.     Why  should  the  cost  of 
the  expedition  that  reduced  Scyros  be  paid  out  of  the 
treasury  of  the  Confederacy.?     The  Athenians  doubt- 
less had  a  plausible  answer  to  the  objections  raised. 
They  could  say  to  the  Naxians  that  the  object  and  pur- 
pose of  the  league  was  not  only  to  drive  out  the  Per- 
sians from  the  Islands  of  the  /Egean,  but  to  expel  the 
pirates  who  infested  its  waters.     There  was,  however, 
a  valid  reason  for  the  continued  existence  of  the  Con- 
federacy.    The  Persians  were  at  that  time  preparing 
to  make  one  more  final  effort  to  secure  their  prestige 
and  expel  the  Greeks  from  her  insular  possessions  on 
the  western  shores  of  Asia  Minor.     Perhaps  some  of 
her  ambitious  admirals  even  contemplated  a  third  in- 
vasion of  Hellas.     A  new  expedition  was  then  being 
fitted  out  in  Pamphylia  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Eu- 
rymedon.     Orders  had  been  given  to  assemble  a  fleet 
and  army  at  that  place  from  which  military  opera- 
tions were  to  be  conducted  against  the  Asiatic  Greeks. 
Cimon,    after   the    reduction    of   Naxos,    defeated    this 
expedition,   an   account   of  wliich  will   be  given  pres- 
ently. 

Naxos  was  famous  for  its  wines.  It  was  one  of  the 
largest  of  the  Cyclades  situated  about  ninety  miles 
southeast  of  Cape  Sunium,  the  southern  extremity  of 
Attica  and  twenty  miles  southeast  of  the  Island  of 
Delos.  It  extends  about  twenty  miles  from  north  to 
south.  Its  greatest  width  is  fifteen  miles.  Twelve 
years  had  elapsed  since  the  Confederacy  was  organized 
and  Naxos  was  the  first  member  of  the  alliance  to  rebel. 
B.  C.  466  the  Naxians  refused  longer  to  comply  with 
the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  league  and  declined 
to  contribute  to  its  treasury  or  to  furnish  its  quota  of 
men  and  ships,  in  conformity  with  the  assessment  levied 


REDUCTION    OF    NAXOS  483 

upon  it.     They  declared  that  the  league  was  a  volun- 
tary confederation  from  which  they  had  the  right  to 
retire  of  their  own  volition.     Athens,  as  the  head  of  the 
Confederacy,  asserted  that  the  allegiance  of  its  con- 
stituent members,  though  voluntarily  assumed,  became 
obhgatory  and  binding  so  long  as  a  majority  desired 
that  it  should  be  maintained.     That  Naxos  could  not 
be  relieved  of  its  obligations  without  the  consent  of  the 
other  members.      The   Naxians   declined   to   pay   their 
share  of  the  tribute  money,  and  a  fleet  was  sent  to  con- 
quer  them,  and  make  them   subject  allies   of  Athens. 
This    armament   was    under   the   command    of   Cimon. 
Naxos,   being   weak,   was   not   able   to  hold   out   long 
against  the  strong  fleet  of  tlie  Confederacy  commanded 
by  the  most  skilful  admiral  since  Themistocles.     The 
island  was  reduced  after  a  siege,  and  was  the  first  of 
the  allies  under  the  Confederacy  to  be  subjugated,  as 
Thucydides  says,  contrary  to  the  agreement.     He  ob- 
serves that  tJie  Athenians  were  offensive  in  their  de- 
mands by  using  compulsion  to  men  who  were  neither 
accustomed  nor  willing  to  do  hard  work. 

From  this,  we  may  infer,  that  where  a  poor  weak 
ally  could  not  raise  the  full  quota  of  tax  in  money, 
Athens  compelled  them  to  send  men,  taking  them  away 
from  their  flocks,  their  vineyards,  and  their  farms,  and 
compelling  them  to  perform  onerous  tasks  and  duties 
as  seamen  in  the  fleet.  He  observes  further  in  this  con- 
nection (i,  99)  that  Athens  was  no  longer  popular  in 
the  league,  "  and  while  the  Athenians-  did  not  join  the 
service  on  an  equal  footing,  it  was  easy  for  them  to 
bring  to  subjection  those  who  revolted.  For  this,  the 
allies  had  themselves  to  blame ;  for  owing  to  their  aver- 
sions for  expeditions,  the  greater  part  of  them,  to 
avoid  being  away  from  home,  agreed  to  contribute 
money,  instead  of  ships  as  their  quota  of  the  expense ; 
and  so  the  fleet  of  the  Athenians  was  increased  from 
the  funds   which  they   contributed,  while  they  them- 


i 


484 


MILTTAEY   ANNAM    OP    GREECE 


selves,  whenever  thej  revolted,  found  themselves  unpre- 
pared and  inexperienced  for  war." 

Thus  Naxos  lost  her  liberty  and  became  subject  to 
the  authority  of  Athens.  The  next  member  of  the 
league  to  be  subjugated  was  Thasos,  B.C.  465,  an 
account  of  which  will  be  given  presently. 

The  next  important  event  in  the  order  of  time  was 
the  defeat  of  the  Persian  arms  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Eurymedon,  a  river  in  Asia  Minor  which  rises  in  Pisidia 
and  flows  south  through  Pamphylia  into  the  Mediterra- 
nean known  to  the  ancients  in  that  locality  as  the  Sea 
of  Lycium.  The  mouth  of  the  Eurymedon  is  130  miles 
northeast  of  the  northern  shore  of  the  island  of  Cyprus. 
Cimon,  B.  C.  466,  the  same  year  in  which  he  reduced 
the  island  of  Naxos,  with  a  fleet  consisting  of  250  Athe- 
nian triremes  augmented  by  a  squadron  of  100  ships 
furnished  by  the  allies  of  the  Confederacy  of  Delos, 
attacked  and  destroyed  a  Persian  fleet  composed  mostly 
of  Phoenician  vessels  aggregating  about  two  hundred 
ships,  which  was  followed  on  the  same  day  by  a  land 
engagement  in  which  the  Athenians  attacked  and  routed 
the  Persian  army,  which  was  assembled  on  shore  to  pro- 
tect the  fleet. 

While  Cimon  was  operating  against  Naxos,  he  re- 
ceived intelligence  that  the  Persians  were  assembling 
with  the  aid  of  the  Phoenicians,  and  again  threatened 
mihtary  operations  and  incursions  among  the  Greek 
colonies  and  cities  in  Asia  Minor,  and  the  islands  off  the 
coast  of  Ionia  and  Caria.  As  soon  as  Naxos  sur- 
rendered, Cimon  sailed  across  the  iEgean  one  hundred 
and  Miy  miles  and  expelled  the  Persians  from  several 
towns  on  the  coast  of  Caria  and  Lycia.  The  enemy 
then  determined  to  make  a  stand  in  Pamphylia  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Eurymedon,  where  they  had  assembled  a 
large  fleet  and  army.  The  former  mustered  two  hun- 
dred vessels,  and  eighty  more  were  expected  daily  from 
the  island  of  Cyprus  to  reinforce  them,  under  Tithrau- 


VICTOEY   AT   THE   EURYMEDON  485 

stes  and  Pherendates.  When  Cimon  learned  that  the 
reinforcements  were  hourly  expected,  he  determined  to 
strike  the  enemy  before  their  arrival.  The  Persians 
manoeuvred  for  delay  desiring  to  postpone  an  engage- 
ment until  their  allies  came.  For  the  same  reason 
Cimon  was  anxious  to  begin  hostilities.  He  made  a 
vigorous  attack.  The  Persians  were  unable  to  with- 
stand the  onslaught  of  the  Athenians,  retreated  to  the 
shore  and  sought  the  protection  of  their  land  forces  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Eurymedon.  Cimon  destroyed  the 
fleet  which  was  driven  on  the  beach.  Then  he  deter- 
mined to  destroy  the  Persian  army  as  the  sun  was  still 
high,  and  crowd  into  a  single  day,  his  victory  on  sea 
and  land.  This  great  feat  he  accomplished.  He  dis- 
embarked his  men  and  followed  up  his  naval  battle  with 
a  vigorous  attack  on  the  land  forces.  The  engage- 
ment was  spirited  and  well  contested,  but  Cimon  suc- 
ceeded in  defeating  the  enemy  which  was  completely 
routed,  and  quit  the  field  in  terror,  leaving  a  large  num- 
ber of  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Then  with  a  display  of  energy,  which  caused  the 
wonder  and  admiration  of  his  countrymen,  Cimon  sailed 
to  the  island  of  Cyprus,  to  intercept  the  Phoenician 
reinforcements  before  they  could  learn  of  the  defeat 
of  their  allies.  He  overtook  them  off  the  coast  of  that 
island,  and  in  a  vigorous  naval  engagement  defeated 
them,  and  destroyed  their  entire  armament. 

Such  was  the  battle  of  the  Eurymedon,  and  the  won- 
derful triple  victory  of  Cimon,  which  was  commemo- 
rated on  the  tripod  dedicated  to  Apollo,  as  one  of  the 
most  glorious  exploits  in  Grecian  annals.  Plutarch 
observes,  referring  to  this  engagement,  that  Cimon  in 
one  day  carried  off  two  victories,  wherein  he  surpassed 
that  of  Salamis  by  sea,  and  that  of  Plataea  by  land. 
After  these  achievements  of  the  Athenians,  aided  and 
supported  by  the  Confederacy  of  Delos,  her  authority 
on  the  sea  became  supreme.    It  is  said  that  when  tidings 


486 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


from  the  Eurymedon  reached  Susa,  the  chagrin  and 
mortification  of  Xerxes  was  such  as  to  impair  his  health. 
He  took  to  his  bed  and  never  recovered.  The  following 
year,  B.  C.  465,  not  very  long  after  defeat  of  Persia 
at  the  Eurymedon,  which  was  in  the  fall,  B.  C.  466, 
Xerxes  was  assassinated  while  he  slept,  by  the  captain 
of  the  guard  and  the  chief  eunuch  of  the  palace.  He 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Artaxerxes  I. 

The  success  of  Cinion  at  the  Eurymedon  was  followed 
by  the  celebrated  peace,  known  as  the  Peace  of  Cimon, 
whereby  the  Persians  stipulated  that  their  armies 
should  not  approach  the  shores  of  the  Mgesm  within 
a  horse's  course,  and  that  their  vessels  of  war  should 
not  appear  off  the  coast  of  Lycia.  Others  claim  these 
stipulations  were  not  embodied  in  the  treaty,  but  that 
through  fear  the  Persians  acted  as  if  they  were  so 
bound  by  a  treaty. 

Cimon  next  drove  the  Persians  from  the  Chersonese, 
then  subdued  the  native  Thracians  and  then  besieged 
the  island  of  Tliasos  which  he  conquered  after  a  siege 
of  two  years. 

The  reduction  of  Thasos  by  the  fleet  of  Cimon  was 
in  direct  violation  of  the  protection  which  Athens  pro- 
fessed to  afford  to  every  member  of  the  Delian  Con- 
federacy. Thasos  was  taken  by  the  Athenians  not 
because  that  island  refused  to  contribute  its  quota  of 
ships  and  money  as  required  by  the  articles  of  the 
Confederation;  on  the  contrary  Athens  deliberately 
destroyed  its  own  ally  for  the  purpose  of  robbing  its 
inhabitants  of  the  mines  which  they  had  discovered 
near  the  coast  of  Thrace.  Her  conduct  on  this  occa- 
sion showed  that  that  city  no  longer  pretended  to  be 
the  president  of  the  Confederacy  of  Delos,  but  had  ab- 
sorbed that  organization  and  used  its  resources  for  its 
own  benefit.  The  Athenian  empire  was  established  and 
Athens  was  supreme. 

Thasos  is  in  the  northern  ^gean,  ^ve  miles  off  the 


QUARREL    WITH    THE    THASIANS 


487 


southern  shore  of  Thrace  and  about  forty  miles  east 
of  Eion  and  Amphipolis  on  the  river  Strymon.  It  is 
about  eighteen  miles  long  from  north  to  south  and 
about  fifteen  miles  in  width.  B.  C.  465,  Cimon,  after 
his  victory  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eurymedon  the  previous 
year,  was  sent  with  a  powerful  fleet  to  blockade  the 
ports  of  Thasos.  Like  Naxos,  Thasos  was  a  member 
of  the  Confederacy  of  Delos. 

The  reasons  assigned  by  Athens  to  bolster  up  its 
pretext  for  sending  a  squadron  to  subjugate  the  island, 
however,  did  not  arise  from  any  disposition  on  the  part 
of  Thasos  to  repudiate  its  obligations  to  the  Confed- 
eracy. The  quarrel  arose  respecting  territory  in 
Thrace,  which  had  been  occupied  by  colonists  and  citi- 
zens of  Thasos,  and  the  development  of  rich  mines  of 
gold  and  silver,  which  were  being  worked  by  the  Tha- 
sians,  possession  of  which  they  refused  to  yield  to  citi- 
zens and  colonists  from  Athens.  After  the  capture  of 
Eion,  six  years  previously  (B.  C.  471),  Athenian  pros- 
pectors frequently  visited  the  country  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  mouth  of  the  Strymon,  which  was  but  forty 
miles  from  Thasos.  The  Thasians,  whose  home  was  in 
the  immediate  vicinity,  their  island  being  located  but 
five  miles  from  the  shore  of  the  continent,  had  become 
possessed  of  considerable  territory  in  these  near-by 
regions.  Disputes  between  the  Athenians  and  Tha- 
sians, as  to  the  right  to  the  possession  of  mines  and 
lands,  were  frequent. 

After  the  Persians  had  been  driven  from  Eion  the 
Athenians  attempted  to  found  a  settlement  at  a  place 
called  Ennea  Hodoi,  the  Nine  Ways,  on  the  Strymon, 
three  miles  above  Eion.  The  attempt  was  a  failure, 
owing  to  the  hostility  of  the  fierce  and  barbarous  na- 
tives known  as  the  Edonian  Thracians,  who  made  suc- 
cessful raids  on  the  settlers,  and  prospectors,  in  the 
absence  of  sufficient  military  protection,  which  was 
withdrawn,  Cimon  having  departed  after  the  reduction 


488 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


EARTHQUAKE    IN    SPARTA 


489 


of  Eion.  The  Athenians,  however,  had  discovered  gold 
in  Mount  Pangfeus,  a  few  miles  east  of  the  Strymon, 
and  in  the  vicinity  of  Ennea  Hodoi,  where  they  after- 
wards founded  the  city  of  Amphipolis.  In  the  strife 
which  arose  we  have  no  record  of  any  attempt  on  the 
part  of  Athens  to  submit  these  controversies  to  arbitra- 
tion. The  Athenians  liad  the  power  of  a  giant,  and 
they  used  it  like  a  giant,  and  crushed  their  weaker  allies 
by  force  of  arms.  Cimon,  with  a  strong  fleet,  was  sent 
to  reduce  the  island  of  Thasos.  While  the  blockade 
was  in  force,  Athens  sent  a  colony  of  ten  thousand  citi- 
zens to  form  a  settlement,  and  build  a  city  on  the  site 
of  Ennea  Hodoi.  Disaster  overtook  this  colony,  which 
we  might  be  justified  in  saying  was  a  visitation  of  retrib- 
utive justice  for  their  an  just  course  towards  the 
Thasians.  The  new  colonists  were  surprised  and  at- 
tacked by  the  Thracians,  and  almost  the  entire  con- 
tingent was  massacred.  The  Athenians,  however,  did 
not  raise  the  blockade  at  Thasos,  by  reason  of  this 
misfortune. 

The  Thasians  were  hard  pressed  by  a  superior  force. 
They  were  unwilling  to  abandon  what  they  claimed  they 
were  clearly  entitled  to.  They  believed  that  they  should 
have  been  protected  in  their  rights  by  Athens,  which 
was  their  ally,  and  the  head  of  their  Confederacy,  in- 
stead of  being  driven  by  force  not  only  to  give  up  their 
lands  and  mines  in  Thrace,  but  to  surrender  their 
island  home,  and  become  subjects  and  practically  slaves 
of  Athens.  Under  the  circumstances,  they  could  do 
nothing  but  appeal  secretly  to  the  Lacedaemonians  for 
succor.  The  latter  heard  their  appeal,  and  were  anx- 
ious to  lend  them  substantial  aid,  and  make  war  against 
Athens. 

The  hand  of  Providence  interposed.  A  calamity  be- 
fell Sparta,  which  it  was  impossible  to  foresee,  and 
which  no  human  power  could  possibly  avert.  An 
earthquake  swallowed  up  the  city  of  Sparta   (B.   C. 


464»).  The  capital  of  Laconia,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Eurotas,  lay  in  ruins,  and  during  the  great  convulsion 
of  nature  which  caused  the  buildings  and  temples  to  top- 
ple and  fall,  and  more  than  20,000  of  its  citizens  per- 
ished. Sparta,  however,  had  been  an  oppressor,  as  well 
as  Athens.  For  years  they  had  sought  to  enslave  the 
Messenians,  and  the  Helots,  their  neighbors  on  the  west. 
The  military  operations  against  these  people  are  known 
as  the  Messenian  Wars.  The  oppressed  Helots,  taking 
advantage  of  the  calamity  which  had  befallen  their 
enemy,  immediately  revolted  and  marched  against 
Sparta,  which  had  been  almost  annihilated  by  the  earth- 
quake. They  were  repulsed,  and  aided  by  the  Mes- 
senians,  fortified  themselves  in  Mount  Ithome,  near 
Messene,  the  capital  of  Messenia.  These  hostilities 
which  continued  for  some  years  are  known  as  the  Third 
Messenian  war. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  Thasos  that  these  events 
which  were  absolutely  unavoidable,  intervened  at  this 
particular  time.  The  Lacedaemonians  were  absolutely 
powerless  to  aid  her,  and  the  Thasians,  after  a  gallant 
defense  of  more  than  two  years,  were  forced  to  sur- 
render. Their  fortifications  were  razed.  The  Atheni- 
ans took  their  fleet,  and  confiscated  all  their  possessions 
in  Thrace.  They  were  also  compelled  to  pay  the  costs 
of  the  war  and  a  large  annual  tribute  into  the  treasury 
of  Athens. 

Thus,  one  by  one,  the  weaker  members  of  the  Con- 
federacy of  Delos  began  to  lose  their  independence,  and 
the  power  of  Athens  in  the  ^gean  became  supreme. 


Ill 


Li 


CHAPTER    XXXiri 


*"mt.^,^^?^J^^    empire -ATHENS    SUBJUGATES 
^inA^^^IB^    ^^^    ATTAINS    IMPERIAL    SU- 
A^vf'^'^FJ.r"^^  HEGEMONY  BECOMES 
AN   EMPIRE   AND   ATHENS   AN   IMPE- 
RIAL CITY 

HE  term  empire,  in  connection  with  the  poHt- 
ical  history  of  Athens,  seems  altogether  in- 
appropriate, and  somewhat  confusing.     To 
associate   the   idea   of  imperialism   with   the 
first  city  in   Hellas  seems  repugnant  to  the 
traditions   of  her   people  and   the   reputation   she   at- 
tained as  the  champion  of  popular  government.     From 
an  early  period  the  Attic  commonwealth  seems  to  have 
been  the  foe  of  despotism  and  the  foremost  advocate 
of  political  liberty.     Under  the  constitution  of  Solon, 
it  was  a   republican   oligarchy;    it  became  a   republic 
under   the   constitution    of   (iisthencs,   and    under   the 
guidance   of  Themistocles,   Pericles   and   Ephialtes,   it 
developed  into  an  absolute  democracy.     When,  there- 
fore, Thucydides  speaks  of  the  Athenian  empire,  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  analyze  the  facts  in  relation  to  the 
political  conditions  of  that  day  in  order  to  comprehend 
his  meaning.     The  necessity  of  Hellenic  unity  grew  out 
of  the  dangers  of  the  Persian  invasion,  and 'the  efforts 
of  Darius  and  Xerxes  to  enslave  Greece.     United  effort 
was  essential  also  to  expel  the  Persians  not  only  from 
the  shores  of  continental  Hellas,  but  from  the  islands 
of  the  Mge&n  and  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  in  order  to 
restore  the  liberties  of  the  Asiatic  Greeks,  originally 
estabhshed  in  the  east  as  colonies  of  the  mother  coun- 
try. 

490 


SPARTA    AND    ATHENS 


491 


The  first  Congress  of  Hellenic  States  was  held  in  the 
old  temple  of  Poseidon,  on  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  and 
was  brought  about  through  the  efforts  of  Themistocles 
in  anticipation  of  the  invasion  of  Hellas  by  the  expe- 
dition headed  by  Xerxes  in  person.  The  second  Pan- 
Hellenic  coalition  was  composed  of  representatives  who 
met  on  the  battlefield  of  Plataea,  after  that  memorable 
engagement.  These  organizations,  doubtless,  were  de- 
signed to  be  permanent.  It  was  intended  that  the  vari- 
ous states  of  Greece  should  send  representatives,  who 
should  meet  annually  to  suggest  measures  and  devise 
means  to  secure  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  en- 
tire community.  There  were  but  two  cities,  and  only 
two  of  commanding  influence  and  power  capable  of 
forming  alliances  with  neighboring  states,  since  every 
coalition  after  the  Persian  Wars  and  prior  to  the 
Theban  supremacy,  acknowledged  the  hegemony  of 
either  one  or  the  other  of  these  cities,  namely  Sparta 
and  Athens.  Unfortunately  for  Hellas,  these  cities 
were  not  only  bitter  rivals,  but  acknowledged  entirely 
different  systems  of  government.  Sparta  was  an 
oligarchy,  Athens  a  republic.  The  domination  of 
Sparta  extended  not  only  over  a  great  part  of  the 
peninsula  south  of  the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  but  on  the 
Isthmus  and  with  those  states  in  central  and  northern 
Greece,  who  were  jealous  of  the  prosperity  of  Athens. 
This  inordinate  jealousy  and  political  rivalry  prevented 
the  unity  of  Hellas.  Athens,  for  patriotic  reasons,  per- 
mitted Sparta  to  take  the  lead  until  the  conduct  of 
Pausanias,  after  the  reduction  of  Byzantium,  B.  C.  478, 
became  so  offensive  and  tyrannical,  that  the  soldiers 
and  seamen  in  the  fleet  absolutely  refused  to  serve  under 
him.  He  was  recalled  by  the  Ephors  of  Sparta,  who 
commissioned  Dorcis  to  serve  in  his  stead.  But  the 
command,  long  before  the  arrival  of  Dorcis,  had  passed 
to  Aristides  and  Cimon,  and  Athens  instead  of  Sparta 
became  the  leader  of  united  Greece. 


492 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


Sparta  refused  to   follow  in   any   enterprise   where 
Athens   led.      The   Peloponneslans   were   recalled,   and 
declined  to  serve  longer  in  the  common  cause  against 
Persia.     This  was  the  beginning  of  Hellenic  disunion. 
It  created  a  breach  between  the  Peloponnesians  and  the 
Athenians  which  was  never  healed.     Under  the  circum- 
stances, the  league  formed  on  the  Isthmus,  and  later  re- 
organized  at   Plataea,   ceased   to   exist.      The   United 
States   of  Greece  was   a  dream  never  to   be   realized. 
Athens  then  determined  to  fight  Persia  without  the  aid 
of  the  states  in  the  Peloponnesus.     Nothing  remained 
for  her  except   to   form   a   new  combination   with  the 
Asiatic  Greeks.     This  alliance  is  known   as  the  Con- 
federacy of  Delos,  and  is  treated  in  a  former  chapter. 
Unfortunately,   we   have  no   information   as   to   the 
nature   and  character   of  the  charter  or  constitution 
which  bound  the  Confederacy  together,   in  which  the 
relative  duties  and  obligations  of  the  respective  parties 
to  the  compact  were  set  forth.     We  may  assume,  how- 
ever, that  it  was  an  agreement  which  imposed  mutual 
obligations  whereby  the  states  consented  to  send  repre- 
sentatives annually  to  Delos.    They  were  to  meet  in  the 
temple  of  Apollo-Artemis.     All  were  to  retain  their  in- 
dependence and  all  were  placed  on  a  footing  of  abso- 
lute equality,  each  member  having  an  equal  vote.     The 
Treasury  of  the  league  was  to  be  at  Delos,  and  that 
city  was  to  be  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy.     The 
union  was  voluntary,  and  the  amount  assessed  upon 
each  state  was  to  be  levied  with  its  consent.    We  are  not 
informed  as  to  whether  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
contained  any  provision  as  to  the  rights  of  the  major- 
ity, or  any  guarantee  to  protect  the  liberties  and  inde- 
pendence of  the  respective  members.     It  was  an  alli- 
ance offensive  and  defensive  dictated  by  necessity,  with 
the  strong  state  of  Athens  as  its  president.     Obviously 
the  union  was  sought  to  secure  objects  similar  to  those 
embraced  in  the  Constitution  of  the  American  Union, 


THEORY    OF    THE    DELIAN    CONFEDERACY 


493 


namely,  "  to  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tran- 
quillity, provide  for  the  common  defense,  promote  the 
general  welfare  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty." 

Statesmanship  in  that  age  was  unequal  to  the  task 
of  securing  these  results,  by  reason  of  the  rivalry  and 
jealousy  which  existed  among  the  free  States  of  Hellas. 
It  was  found  to  be  impossible,  for  these  reasons,  to 
bring  about  a  union  of  States  under  a  common  Con- 
stitution, to  form  a  distinct  and  greater  political  unit 
and  create  a  nation  in  its  nature  perpetual  and  indis- 
soluble. The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  secured 
to  the  American  people  "  an  indestructible  union,  com- 
posed of  indestructible  States,"  a  result  which  the 
primitive  Articles  of  Confederation  improvised  after 
the  final  struggle  with  England  failed  to  accomplish. 
The  Statesmen  of  Hellas  did  not  possess  that  sterling 
political  integrity  which  recognizes  the  fundamental 
political  truth,  that  every  form  of  popular  government 
as  distinguished  from  monarchical  institutions,  must 
rest  upon  the  fundamental  principle,  that  the  govern- 
ment derives  its  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned. 

Athens  formed  a  coalition  with  weaker  states,  and 
promised  to  protect  them  from  foreign  invasion  and  to 
help  them  to  establish  and  maintain  their  independence. 
It  induced  them  to  contribute  with  their  consent  to  the 
expenses  of  the  Confederacy.  They  were  told  that  they 
should  all  be  entitled  to  representation  on  terms  of 
equality  and  that  all  should  be  entitled  to  vote  on  every 
measure  for  the  common  defense.  In  other  words  they 
were  assured  that  they  should  have  the  right  to  vote  as 
to  the  amount  of  the  tax  they  should  be  required  to  con- 
tribute into  the  common  treasury.  The  Confederacy 
was  established  upon  the  assumption  that  the  taxes 
they  should  be  called  upon  to  pay  should  be  war  taxes, 
which  were  to  be  devoted  only  to  military  purposes. 
The  members  of  the  coalition  evidently  supposed  that 


494 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


THE    ATHENIAN    EMPIRE 


495 


when  the  necessities  of  war  ceased,  their  taxes  should 
be  proportionately  decreased. 

The  weak  and  inexperienced  cities  and  states  which 
joined  the  Confederacy  were  not  capable  of  discerning 
the  importance  of  keeping  the  legislative,  executive  and 
judicial  functions  of  government  separate  and  distinct, 
but  permitted  Athens,  the  President  of  the  Confederacy, 
and  more  powerful  than  the  other  members  to  exercise 
both  executive  and  judicial  functions.  The  Athenians 
insisted  that  all  disputes  which  might  arise  should  be 
litigated  in  Athens  and  adjusted  pursuant  to  Athenian 
law.  The  result  was  fatal  to  the  liberties  of  the  Asiatic 
Greeks.  On  their  political  ruin  and  with  the  resources 
they  were  compelled  to  contribute,  Athens  built  up  an 
empire.  For  some  years,  the  Athenians  presided  over 
the  affairs  of  the  Confederacy,  ruling  with  justice  and 
equity  in  a  manner  that  seemed  to  give  entire  satisfac- 
tion, but  gradually  dissatisfaction  arose  among  the 
allies.  About  the  time  that  Naxos  seceded  from  the 
league,  B.  C.  466,  some  of  the  allies  complained  that  the 
Athenians  were  using  the  resources  of  the  Confederacy, 
not  only  to  keep  the  Persians  from  oppressing  them, 
but  to  promote  her  own  ends,  and  extend  and  increase 
her  political  power  to  build  up  an  empire.  Naxos, 
though  the  largest  of  the  Cyclades,  was  unable  to  re- 
gain her  independence,  but  was  conquered  by  the  power 
exercised  by  Athens  as  president  of  the  Confederacy, 
and  instead  of  remaining  an  independent  State,  hold- 
ing membership  in  the  league,  it  became  a  subject  ally, 
compelled  to  pay  tribute  against  her  will. 

But  the  Athenians  grew  more  tyrannical  and  des- 
potic in  the  case  of  Thasos.  That  island  revolted, 
B.  C.  465,  not  because  it  was  unwilling  to  pay  its  pro 
rata  share  into  the  common  treasury.  It  seems  that 
Naxos  had  in  all  things  complied  with  the  rules  and 
regulations  of  the  league,  and  was  guilty  of  no  de- 
linquency, or  disregard  of  any  of  the  obligations  im- 


posed upon  it.     But  the  Thasians  extended  their  opera- 
tions in  Thrace  on  the  mainland,  near  their  island  home. 
There  they  discovered  valuable  mines  of  gold  and  silver. 
The  Athenians  coveted  these  mines,  and  Athens,  in  her 
official  capacity,  as  president  of  the  Confederacy,  and 
in  violation  of  every  principle  of  justice  and  honor, 
confiscated  the  mines.     This  dishonorable  act  was  ac- 
complished  with   the   aid   which   was   afforded   by   the 
ample  resources  of  the  league,  and  the  mines  of  Thrace 
were  taken  from  the  Thasians  and  turned  over  to  the 
Athenians.     Their  property  was  confiscated  and  they 
had  no  redress.    Incensed  at  the  wrong  and  exasperated 
by  the  indefensible  conduct  and  high-handed  usurpation 
of  Athens,  the  Thasians  revolted.     For  two  years  the 
island  was  besieged  by  Cimon,  with  a  fleet  supported 
from  the  revenues  of  the  Confederacy.     The  Thasians 
appealed  to  the  Spartans   for  succor,  but  that  city, 
before  it  could  respond  to  the  appeal,  was  destroyed 
by  an  earthquake,  and  Thasos,  unable  to  secure  assist- 
ance from  any  other  source,  was  conquered  and  reduced 
to  slavery.    The  power  of  Athens  was  irresistible.    The 
Athenians    had    absorbed   the    Confederacy    of   Delos, 
planted  her  colonies  everywhere,  until  her  jurisdiction 
extended  over  an  empire. 

More  than  thirty  years  after  this  event,  when  war 
was  impending,  and  the  Peloponnesians  threatened  to 
invade  Attica,  because  they  claimed  that  Athens  had 
violated  the  treaty  known  as  the  Thirty  Years'  Peace, 
an  embassy  was  sent  to  Sparta  to  avert,  if  possible,  the 
threatened  calamity.  The  ambassadors  sought  to  con- 
vince the  Peloponnesians  that  they  had  not  broken  the 
treaty,  and  that  her  conduct  had  always  been  just  not 
only  to  Sparta,  but  to  her  own  allies  in  the  Confeder- 
acy of  Delos.  They  attempted  to  justify  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Athenian  Empire,  and  argued  that  the 
reason  why  the  Peloponnesians  were  not  included  in  the 
enterprise  was  because  they  voluntarily  abandoned  it 


li 


!    ir 


496 


MIMTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


USURPATION    OF    POWER 


497 


and  refused  to  remain  with  the  Athenians  in  order  to 
assist  them  in  destroying  the  power  of  Persia.  The 
ambassadors  urged  the  Ephors  and  the  assembly  to 
consider  that  the  Athenian  Empire  was  not  acquired  by 
force,  but  that  the  alhes  of  their  own  accord  urged 
Athens  to  be  their  leader. 

Thucydides  (i,  75)  has  preserved  the  address  sup- 
posed to  have  been  delivered  on  that  occasion,  B.  C. 
432,  the  year  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War. 

"  Consider,  Lacedaemonians,"  said  the  Athenian  am- 
bassador, "  the  energy  and  sagacity  which  we  then  dis- 
played.    Do  we  deserve  to  be  so  bitterly  hated  by  the 
other   Hellenes    merely   because   we   have   an    empire.? 
That    empire   was   not    acquired   by    force.      But   you 
would  not  stay  and  make  an  end  of  the  barbarians,  and 
the  allies  came  of  their  own  accord  and  asked  us  to  be 
their   leaders.      The   subsequent   developments   of   our 
power  was  originally  forced  upon  us  by  circumstances. 
Fear  was  our  first  motive ;    afterwards*^  ambition ;    and 
then  interest  stepped  in.     And  when  we  had  incurred 
the  hatred  of  most  of  our  allies,  when  some  of  them 
had  already  revolted  and  been  subjugated  and  you  were 
no  longer  the  friends  to  us,  which  you  had  once  been, 
but  were  suspicious  and  ill-disposed,  how  could  we,  with- 
out great  risk,  relax  our  hold.?    For  the  cities,  as  they 
fell  away  from  us,  would  have  gone  over  to  you.     And 
no  man  is  to  be  reproached  who  seizes  every  possible 
advantage  when  the  danger  is  so  great. 

*'  An  empire  was  offered  to  us ;  can  you  wonder,  that 
acting  as  human  nature  always  will,  we  accepted  it,  and 
refused  to  give  it  up  again,  constrained  by  three  all- 
powerful  motives,  ambition,  fear,  interest.  We  are  not 
the  first  who  have  aspired  to  rule;  the  world  has  ever 
held  that  the  weaker  must  be  kept  down  by  the  stronger. 
And  we  tliink  that  we  are  worthy  of  power;   and  there 


was  a  time  when  you  thought  so  too.  But  now,  when 
you  mean  expediency  you  talk  about  justice.  Did  jus- 
tice ever  deter  any  one  from  taking  by  force  whatever 
he  could.?  Men,  who  indulge  the  natural  ambition  of 
empire  deserve  credit,  if  they  are  in  any  degree  more 
careful  of  justice  than  they  need  be.  How  moderate  we 
are  would  speedily  appear  if  others  took  our  place. 
Indeed,  our  very  moderation  which  should  be  our  glory 
has  been  unjustly  converted  into  a  reproach." 

From  this  argument  it  would  seem  that  the  political 
doctrine  of  the  Athenians,  at  least  so  far  as  her  weaker 
neighbors  and  allies  were  concerned,  was  that  might 
makes  right.  That  justice  consists  in  the  right  of  the 
strong  to  oppress  the  weak,  for  as  the  Athenian  am- 
bassador puts  it,  "  the  world  has  ever  held  that  the 
weaker  must  be  kept  down  by  the  stronger."  They 
seemed  to  have  no  idea  of  justice,  and  no  conception 
of  the  divine  attribute  of  mercy.  "  Did  justice,"  the 
Athenian  asks,  "ever  deter  any  one  from  taking  by 
force  whatever  he  could?"  This  political  maxim 
would  justify  piracy  and  murder.  It  was  claimed  also 
that  these  qualities  which  permitted  the  strong  to  op- 
press the  weak  are  inherent  in  human  nature.  And 
yet  they  declared  that  Athens  did  not  acquire  their 
empire  "  by  force." 

A  strong  light  is  thrown  on  the  conduct  pursued  by 
Athens  in  subjugating  her  allies  and  the  motives  which 
actuated  her  in  an  address  delivered  by  one  of  the  en- 
voys sent  from  Mitylene.  The  occasion  when  this  ad- 
dress was  delivered,  was  at  an  audience,  at  Olympia,  in 
the  third  year  of  the  Peloponnesian  War,  B.  C.  428. 
The  Lesbians  sought  to  persuade  the  Peloponnesians  to 
permit  an  alliance  with  Lesbos,  to  be  made  with  them 
against  Athens.  The  island  of  Lesbos  was  one  of  the 
members  of  the  Confederacy  of  Delos.  Athens  had 
from  time  to  time  reduced  all  of  her  allies  to  slavery 
except  Chios  and  Lesbos.     These  remaining  members 


498 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


LESBOS    SEEKS    AID    FROM    SPARTA 


499 


of  the  Confederacy  were  in  constant  dread  that  they 
would  likewise  be  subjugated  by  the  imperial  head  of 
the  Confederacy.  The  Lesbians  took  advantage  of  the 
war  waged  by  the  Peloponnesians  against  Athens  to 
revolt  from  the  Confederacy  of  Delos,  and  throw  off 
her  allegiance  to  Athens.  They  were  told  to  come  to 
Olympia.  After  the  games  and  festivals  were  over,  they 
met  in  the  temple,  with  the  council  and  the  speaker  in 
behalf  of  the  envoys,  urged  his  appeal.  In  his  argu- 
ment he  showed  how  Athens  had  treated  her  allies,  and 
how  she  had  subjugated  them  one  after  another  until 
she  had  established  an  empire,  on  the  ruins  of  the  Con- 
federacy. Thucydides  (iii,  11)  gives  a  full  report  of 
the  address  delivered  on  that  occasion.  The  part  of  the 
speech  showing  how  Athens  acquired  her  supremacy  is 
as  follows: 

"  Now  our  alliance  with  the  Athenians  first  began 
when  you  ceased  to  take  part  in  the  Persian  War,  and 
they   remained   to   complete  the  work.      But   we   were 
never  the  allies  of  the  Athenians  in  their  design  of  sub- 
jugating Hellas.     We  were  really  the  allies  of  the  Hel- 
lenes, whom  we  sought  to  liberate  from  the  Persians. 
And  while  in  the  exercise  of  their  command  they  claimed 
no  supremacy,  we  were  very  ready  to  follow  them.    But 
our  fears  began  to  be  aroused  when  we  saw  them  relax- 
ing their  efforts  against  the  Persians,  and  imposing  the 
yoke  of  their  dominion  upon  the  allies,  who  could  not 
unite  and  defend  themselves,  for  their  interests  were  too 
various.     And  so  they  were  all  enslaved,  except  our- 
selves and  the  Chians.    We,  forsooth,  were  independent 
allies,  freemen  —  that  was  the  word  —  who  fought  at 
their  side.     But  judging  from  previous  examples,  how 
could  we  any  longer  have  confidence  in  our  leaders.? 
For  they  had  subjugated  others  to  whom,  equally  with 
ourselves,  their  faith  was  pledged.     And  how  could  we, 
who  survived,  expect  to  be  spared  if  ever  they  had  the 
power  to  destroy  us. 


"  Had   all    the    allies    retained   their   independence," 
continued  the  envoy,  "  we  should  have  had  better  assur- 
ance that  they  would  leave  us  as  we  were;    but  when 
the  majority  had  been  subjugated  by  them,  they  might 
naturally  be  expected  to  take  offense  at  our  footing  of 
equality.      They  would  contrast   us,  who  alone  main- 
tained this  equality,  with  the  majority  who  had  sub- 
mitted to  them.     They  would  obsen^e,  also,  that  in  pro- 
portion as  their  strength  was  increasing,  our  isolation 
was  also  increasing.     Mutual  fear  is  the  only  basis  of 
an  alliance,  because  he  who  would  break  faith,  is  de- 
terred from  aggression  by  the  consciousness  of  inferi- 
ority.    And  why  did  they  permit  us  to  be  left  inde- 
pendent?    Only  because  they  thought  that  to  gain  an 
empire,  they  must  use  fair  words  and  win  their  way  by 
policy  and  not  by  violence.     On  the  one  hand,  our  posi- 
tion  was   a  witness   to   their   character.      Because,  we 
having  an  equal  vote  with  them,  we  could  not  be  sup- 
posed to  have  fought  in  their  wars  against  our  will,  but 
those    whom    they    attacked    must    have    been    in    the 

wrong. 

"  On  the  other  hand  they  were  thus  enabled  to  use  the 
powerful  against  the  weak.  We  were  to  be  left  until 
the  last,  because  when  the  weaker  states  were  removed, 
the  stronger  would  fall,  an  easier  prey.  If,  however, 
they  had  begun  with  us  while  the  power  of  the  allies 
was  still  intact,  and  we  might  have  afforded  a  rallying 
point,  they  would  not  so  easily  have  mastered  them. 
.  .  .  What  trust,  then,  could  we  repose  in  such  a  friend- 
ship or  such  an  alliance  as  this.?  The  civility  which 
we  showed  to  one  another  was  at  variance  with  our  real 
feelings.  They  courted  us  in  time  of  war,  because  they 
were  afraid  of  us,  and  we,  in  time  of  peace,  paid  like 
attention  to  them.  The  faith,  which  is  generally  as- 
sured by  mutual  good-will,  had,  with  us,  no  other  bond 
than  mutual  fear.  We  were  constrained  to  remain 
allies  from  fear,  not  from  love,  and  whichever  of  us 


500 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


first  thought  they  could  safely  venture,  would  assuredly 
have  been  the  first  to  break  it." 

Thus,  as  suppliants,  standing  in  the  temple  of  Olvm- 
pian  Zeus  the  envoys  from  Lesbos  besought  tlie  aid  of 
the  Spartan  oHgarchy  to  enable  them  to  be  released 
from  bondage  imposed  by  the  Athenian  repubhc.  The 
argument  advanced  shows  the  purpose  and  design  of 
Athens,  in  subjugating:  her  weaker  allies,  with  the  co- 
operation of  the  stronger.  The  republic  had  expanded 
into  an  empire,  but  in  doing  so,  their  conduct,  as  Mr. 
Grote  observes,  contradicted  one  of  the  fundamental  in- 
stincts of  the  Greek  mind  —  the  right  of  every  separate 
town  to  administer  its  own  political  affairs  apart  from 
external  control. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 

INTERNECINE  WARS  — THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  A  LAND 
EMPIRE    IN    HELLAS  — TANAGRA,   CENOPHYTA 

AND  CORONEA 


T  has  been  shown  how  Athens  established  a 
[  maritime  empire,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  Delian  Confederacy.  She  had  with- 
out the  aid  of  the  Peloponnesians  expelled 
the  Persians  not  only  from  Thrace  and  their 
insular  possessions  in  the  Mgean,  but  from  Cyprus  and 
the  shores  of  Asia  Minor.  After  the  "  Peace  of 
Cimon,"  Athens  was  supreme  on  the  seas. 

The  prosperous  career  of  the  Athenians  excited  the 
envy  and  jealousy  of  Sparta  and  her  Peloponnesian 
allies.  JEgina  and  Corinth  were  unable  to  compete  with 
their  Attic  rival  to  secure  commercial  advantage  on  the 
seas.  Athens  had  also  been  able  not  only  to  build  up 
and  wall  in  her  city ;  she  had  also  protected  her  harbors 
and  port  cities  on  the  Piraeus  and  at  Phalerum,  by  build- 
ing her  walls  about  them,  which  were  extended  inland  to 
connect  with  the  walls  of  Athens.  The  Peloponnesians 
were  unable  to  arrest  her  growth  and  prosperity,  or  to 
prevent  her  from  becoming  the  first  city  in  Europe. 

The  reason  that  Sparta  was  not  in  position  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  her  rival  was  because  she  was  fully 
occupied  in  seeking  to  repress  the  formidable  revolt 
of  the  Helots  and  their  allies  the  Messenians,  who  had 
taken  refuge  in  their  strong  fortifications  on  Mount 
Ithome,  from  which  it  seemed  impossible  to  dislodge 
them.  This  rebellion,  which  occurred  B.  C.  464,  is 
known  as  the  Third  Messenian  War.     It  lasted  nine 

501 


502 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OP    GEEECE 


years  until  B.  C.  455.  The  situation  of  Sparta  must 
have  been  critical,  indeed,  when  she  twice  invoked  the 
aid  of  her  old  rivals,  the  Athenians,  in  the  Messenian 
War.  This  request  for  aid  was  extended  because  the 
Athenians  were  reputed  to  be  skilful  in  siege  operations. 
The  last  suggestion  to  apply  to  Athens  for  assistance 
may  have  originated  with  Cimon,  whose  friendship  for 
the  Lacedaemonians  was  proverbial.  Cimon  was  the 
leader  of  the  oligarchical  party.  His  political  rival 
was  the  illustrious  Pericles.  Cimon  was  popular,  not- 
withstanding the  unpopularity  of  his  party,  and  he  pre- 
vailed upon  his  countrymen  to  send  an  army  to  Laconia 
to  aid  the  Spartans  against  the  Helots  and  Messenians, 
B.  C.  461.  When  the  Athenians  arrived  before  Ithome, 
and  displayed  their  superior  tactics  in  the  mode  of 
storming  fortified  places  in  which  species  of  warfare 
the  Lacedaemonians  were  deficient,  the  latter  became 
uneasy  at  the  bold  and  original  spirit  of  the  Athenians. 
Thucydides  says  that  the  Lacedaemonians  reflected  that 
the  Athenians  were  aliens  in  race,  and  feared  that  if 
they  were  permitted  to  remain  they  might  be  tempted 
by  the  Helots  to  change  sides.  They  concluded,  there- 
fore, that  it  might  be  wise  to  dispense  with  their  serv- 
ices. Accordingly  they  told  Cimon  that  they  could  con- 
duct the  war  without  assistance  from  the  Athenians  and 
dismissed  them.  This  treatment  was  regarded  by  the 
latter  as  an  insult,  and  attributed  to  some  secret  sus- 
picion which  had  arisen  in  the  minds  of  the  Lacedae- 
monians. On  their  return  the  nominal  alliance  which 
had  till  then  existed  with  the  Lacedicmonians  against 
the  Persians  was  abandoned.  Indeed  public  feeling 
ran  so  high  that  Cimon  himself  felt  the  displeasure  of 
the  majority  of  his  countrymen  and  he  was  sent  into 
exile. 

At  this  time  (B.  C.  459-457)  the  affairs  of  Athens 
were  influenced  and  controlled  largely,  if  not  entirely, 
by  Pericles.     Aristides  slept  with  his  fathers,  having 


POUCY    OF    PERICLES 


503 


died  about  B.  C.  468.  Themistocles  died  in  exile  in  the 
dominions  of  Artaxerxes,  about  B.  C.  464.  Ephialtes 
had  been  assassinated  by  a  Theban  in  the  pay  of  the 
leaders  of  the  oligarchical  party.  Cimon  was  in  exile, 
the  decree  of  ostracism  having  been  passed  about  B.  C. 
460.  Pericles,  the  powerful  leader  of  the  Athenian 
democracy,  had  now  become  the  foremost  man  in  Greece. 
He  clearly  foresaw  that  sooner  or  later  the  Athenians 
and  Lacedaemonians  would  be  engaged  in  a  deadly 
struggle,  in  which  one  or  the  other  must  inevitably 
perish,  as  a  political  power  in  Hellas.  Greece  was  not 
big  enough  for  both.  In  order  to  strengthen  Attica, 
in^preparation  for  the  evil  day,  Pericles  entered  upon 
a  foreign  policy  which  attested  his  abilities  as  a  states- 
man and  diplomat. 

The  Messenian  War  still  occupied  the  time  and  ener- 
gies of  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  the  Athenian  leader 
seized  the  opportunity  to  make  allies  in  the  Peloponne- 
sus. Argos  was  extremely  jealous  of  Sparta,  because 
the  latter  sought  the  leadership  in  the  peninsula  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  Argives,  who  prided  themselves  on  their 
mythical  renown  and  the  fame  accorded  their  heroes  in 
the  Iliad  of  Homer.  While  the  Spartans  were  seeking 
to  dislodge  the  Helots  from  their  strongholds  at 
Ithome,  Argos  reduced  Mycenae,  Tiryns  and  some 
neighboring  cities  in  Argolis.  Pericles,  then,  about 
B.  C.  458,  formed  an  alliance  with  Argos  against 
Sparta.  This  was  followed  by  a  clever  stroke  of  policy, 
whereby  the  Thessalians  also  were  induced  to  become 
a  member  of  the  alliance.  He  then  made  successful 
overtures  to  Megara,  and  succeeded  in  inducing  that 
important  state,  whose  territory  embraced  the  Isthmus 
of  Corinth,  to  join  the  Confederacy.  This  gave  the 
Athenians  and  their  allies  control  of  the  gateway  to 
the  Peloponnese,  and  the  passes  of  Mount  Geraneia, 
through  which  an  invading  army  must  pass  to  reach 
Central  Greece.     It  gave  them  also  a  strategic  naval 


S04 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OP    GEEECE 


ATHENIANS    UNDER    MYRONIDES 


SOS 


base  at  Nisaea  on  the  Saronic  gulf,  that  being  the  port 
town  of  Megara  on  the  south.  From  this  port  naval 
operations  could  be  advantageously  conducted  against 
the  island  of  ^gina,  which  lay  about  fifteen  miles  south 
of  Nisaea.  The  importance  of  Megara  was  still  further 
augmented  by  the  fact  that  Athens  thereby  secured 
through  this  alliance  the  important  city  and  harbor  of 
Pegae  on  the  Crisffian,  or  Corinthian  gulf.  These  alli- 
ances, negotiated  by  the  superior  diplomacy  and  states- 
manship of  Pericles,  gave  Athens  an  immense  advan- 
tage. Through  her  allies  she  practically  controlled 
Hellas.  The  Isthmus  gave  her  command  of  the  gulf 
of  Corinth,  the  Saronic  Gulf,  and  consequently  free 
access  to  the  Ionian  and  ^gean  seas,  and  the  shores 
and  port  towns  of  the  entire  Peloponnese.  She  could 
menace  Bceotia  on  the  north  and  the  island  of  iEgina 
on  the  south.  The  passes  of  the  Geraneian  Mountains 
which  stretched  as  a  bar  across  the  Isthmus  extended 
from  the  Saronic  Gulf  to  the  Gulf  of  Corinth.  These 
defiles  formed  the  gateway  through  which  hostile  armies 
were  obliged  to  pass  from  the  south  to  invade  Attica, 
and  from  Boeotia  on  the  north  to  join  her  allies  at 
Corinth.  The  political  wisdom  and  foresight  of  Per- 
icles, in  negotiating  these  foreign  treaties,  is  obvious, 
in  view  of  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians. After  the  Athenian  defeat  at  Tanagra,  to 
which  reference  will  be  made  presently,  these  alliances 
with  neighboring  contiguous  states  possibly  saved 
Athens. 

After  Pericles  had  concluded  these  various  treaties 
he  turned  his  attention  to  iEgina.  The  thrifty  and 
enterprising  people  of  that  island  and  the  merchants 
and  tradesmen  of  Epidaurus  and  Corinth  made  these 
states  the  principal  commercial  rivals  of  Athens. 
They  became  alarmed  at  the  growing  power  of  their 
rival  especially  in  view  of  her  new  allies.  Impelled  by 
necessity,   therefore,   Epidaurus    and    Corinth   formed 


an  alliance  to  protect  ^glna,  to  prevent  the  island 
from  falling  under  the  dominion  of  Athens.  These 
allies  fitted  out  a  strong  fleet.  But  the  fame  of  the 
Athenian  navy,  and  the  superior  training  of  her  sea- 
men, made  her  invincible.  A  naval  engagement  (B.  C. 
458)  occurred  off  the  island,  which  resulted  in  the  de- 
struction of  the  Pcloponnesian  squadron.  Seventy 
ships  were  captured  by  the  Athenians.  They  then  de- 
barked a  strong  land  force  under  the  command  of  Leo- 
crates,  and  laid  siege  to  the  city  of  ^gina,  the  capital 
of  the  island. 

Corinth  now  sought  to  relieve  ^glna,  by  making  an 
attack  upon  Megara,  upon  the  assumption  that  the 
Athenians  would  be  unable  to  assist  the  Megarians,  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  they  had  a  large  force  absent 
not  only  in  ^Egina  but  also  in  Egypt,  whither  they  had 
gone  to  the  assistance  of  Inaros,  a  Libyan  King,  who 
had  undertaken  to  aid  the  Egyptians  to  overthrow  the 
Persian  yoke  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs.  They  be- 
lieved, also,  that  if  the  Athenians  went  to  the  assistance 
of  Megara  they  would  of  necessity  be  obliged  to  raise 
the  siege  of  ^gina.  But  the  resources  of  Athens  were 
not  exhausted  as  long  as  there  were  boys  and  old  men 
in  the  city  capable  of  bearing  arms.  These  youthful 
and  aged  warriors  were  mustered  under  Myronides,  who 
led  them  to  the  Isthmus.  The  Corinthians  had  seized 
the  heights  of  Geraneia,  and  thence  made  a  descent  with 
their  allies  into  the  Megarian  territory.  An  engage- 
ment took  place  between  the  Corinthians  and  the  old 
men  and  boys  sent  from  Athens  under  Myronides.  The 
victory  was  claimed  by  both  sides,  but  finally  the  Corin- 
thians retired  and  the  Athenians  erected  a  trophy. 
When  the  troops  reached  Corinth  they  were  derided 
and  taunted  for  having  fled  from  an  army  of  boys  and 
aged  men,  and  unable  to  endure  their  shame  and  mor- 
tification, after  twelve  days  preparation,  again  returned 
to  the  field  of  battle,  and  claiming  to  have  prevailed 


\ 


5o6 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


over  their  enemies,  erected  a  trophy.  Then  Myronides, 
with  his  unique  contingent,  returned  to  aid  the  Mega- 
rians,  and  those  who  had  erected  the  trophy  were  slain. 
He  then  made  an  assault  and  charged  and  routed  the 
enemy.  The  Corinthians  retreated,  hut  a  large  num- 
ber missed  their  way  and  got  into  a  private  enclosure, 
surrounded  by  a  ditch,  from  which  there  was  no  exit. 
The  Athenians  took  advantage  of  their  plight  and 
closed  the  entrance  with  heavy  armed  troops.  The 
light  troops  were  thrown  about  the  enclosure  and  stoned 
those  within,  all  of  whom  perished. 

In  view  of  these  alliances  which  Pericles  had  made 
with  neighboring  states,  and  the  reverses  which  the 
Peloponncsians  had  sustained,  the  Laced.Tmonians  be- 
came alarmed.  They  had  every  reason  to  be  disturbed 
at  the  growing  power  of  Athens,  and  fearing  that  she 
might  acquire  a  land  empire,  in  addition  to  her  mari- 
time supremacy,  they  were  exceedingly  anxious  to  form 
an  alliance  with  Thebes,  to  prevent  her  rival  from  ex- 
tending her  influence  in  Boeotia.  The  invasion  of  Doris 
by  the  Phocians  and  the  capture  of  Delphi,  which  city 
the  Phocians  had  taken  from  the  Delphians,  in  what 
was  known  as  the  Holy  War,  afforded  them  the  oppor- 
tunity they  sought. 

The  four  states  which  border  the  northern  shores  of 
the  gulf  of  Corinth,  in  their  order  from  east  to  west, 
are  Boeotia,  Phocis,  Locris  and  ^Etolia.  The  states  of 
Phocis  and  Locris  form  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
little  state  of  Doris,  whose  territory  is  about  as  ex- 
tensive as  the  District  of  Columbia.  Its  inhabitants 
were  Dorians,  and  kinsmen  as  well  as  allies  of  Sparta. 
The  town  of  Delphi  in  which  stands  the  temple  of 
Apollo,  is  situated  in  Phocis.  Over  its  sacred  precincts 
the  Phocians  claimed  jurisdiction.  The  Delphians, 
however,  asserted  that  the  limitations  of  the  holy  ter- 
ritory, where  the  temple  stood,  were  not  confined  to  the 
adjoining  precincts  and  grounds  about  the  edifice,  but 


THE    HOLY   WAR 


507 


were  coterminus  with  the  city  of  Delphi.  In  this  con- 
tention they  were  bitterly  opposed  by  the  Phocians. 
The  Delphians  had  the  sympathy  and  support  of  the 
Dorians  and  in  order  to  maintain  the  supremacy  of 
their  city,  they  sought  also  the  aid  of  Sparta  and  the 
Peloponncsians.  The  latter  had  always  been  liberal  in 
support  of  the  temple  and  were  able  to  secure  favorable 
responses  from  the  Pythian,  when  it  became  necessary 
to  consult  the  oracle.  They  enjoyed  this  high  privilege 
to  such  an  extent  that  the  Alcm^onidae,  whose  family 
had  been  banished  from  Athens  by  Hix)pias,  were 
obliged  to  bribe  the  priestess  in  order  to  secure  favor- 
able responses,  when  occasion  arose,  in  which  the  Spar- 
tans were  concerned,  because  the  Pisistratidae  were 
encouraged  and  aided  by  the  Spartans  in  their  usur- 
pations against  the  popular  party  in  Athens. 

Sparta,  at  the  time  of  the  affair  at  Tanagra,  B.  C. 
457,  was  still  involved  in  the  Messenian  War,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  siege  of  Ithome.  But  the  Dorians  having 
attempted  to  aid  the  Delphians  against  the  Phocians, 
the  latter  sent  an  army  into  Doris  to  punish  the  in- 
habitats  for  their  interference.  This  gave  Sparta  a 
pretext  for  sending  an  army  into  Boeotia  ostensibly  to 
aid  the  Dorians.  The  real  object  was  not  only  to  take 
the  city  of  Delphi  from  the  Phocians,  but  to  form  an 
alliance  with  the  Boeotians  against  Athens.  The  Spar- 
tans were  able  to  spare  fifteen  hundred  hoplites  from 
the  operations  at  Ithome,  and  these  were  reinforced  by 
ten  thousand  Peloponnesian  allies.  This  army  of 
eleven  thousand  ^\e  hundred  men  under  command  of 
Nicomodes  marched  to  the  state  of  Doris,  but  upon 
their  approach  the  Phocians  retired.  Delphi  was  re- 
stored to  the  Delphians,  and  the  Lacedaemonians  were 
free  to  carry  out  their  plans  to  prevent  the  Athenians 
from  gaining  an  ascendancy  in  Boeotia.  Thebes,  after 
the  battle  of  Plataea,  had  lost  her  power  and  influence, 
because  she  took  part  with  the  Medes  against  Hellas. 


5o8 


MIUTARY    ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


But  the  question  with  the  Lacedaemonians  was  whether 
Athens  or  Sparta  would  be  able  to  establish  supremacy 
in  Boeotia.  In  order  to  form  an  alliance  with  the  The- 
bans,  the  Lacedaemonian  army  repaired  to  Thebes. 
That  city  was  then  engaged  in  restoring  her  fortifica- 
tions, and  seeking  to  regain  her  lost  power.  Thebes 
was  an  oligarchy.  The  Lacedaemonians  were  sup- 
porters of  oligarchical  government.  Pericles  had 
beaten  Cimon  and  the  oligarchical  party  in  Athens, 
which  had  attempted  to  defeat  the  democrats,  and  es- 
tablish an  oligarchy  in  Attica.  Some  of  the  wealthy 
men,  who  had  sought  to  overthrow  democracy  at  home, 
now  repaired  to  Thebes  to  secure  the  influence  of  its 
citizens,  and  to  urge  them  to  form  an  alliance  with  the 
Lacedaemonians,  in  order  that  when  the  opportunity 
offered,  they  might  be  able,  with  the  aid  of  the  forces 
from  the  Peloponnesus,  to  cooperate  and  overthrow 
the  democratic  party  headed  by  Pericles,  and  establish 
an  oligarchy  in  Attica.  The  aristocrats  were  particu- 
larly incensed  because  Pericles,  with  the  efficient  aid  of 
Ephialtes,  passed  a  law  which  made  any  citizen,  without 
regard  to  his  property  qualifications,  eligible  to  the 
Archonship.  They  also  succeeded  in  stripping  the  an- 
cient council  of  the  Areopagus  of  much  of  its  power. 
The  battle  between  oligarchy  and  democracy  was  being 
fought  bitterly,  and  the  oligarchical  party  was  at  its 
wit's  end.  The  democrats  feared  an  attempt  on  the 
part  of  traitors  in  Athens  to  seek  the  aid  of  the  Lace- 
daemonians, whose  army  was  in  Boeotia. 

Thucydides  mentions  another  reason  why  the  Lace- 
daemonians might  have  been  anxious  to  have  the  sup- 
port of  the  oligarchical  party  in  Athens.  The  wisdom 
of  Pericles  in  forming  alliances  with  the  neighboring 
state  of  Megara  now  became  apparent.  The  return  of 
the  Lacedaemonian  army  from  Phocis  presented  diffi- 
culties. If  they  went  by  sea,  across  the  Gulf  of  Corinth, 
they  would  certainly  have  been  intercepted  and  attacked 


'"^' 


BATTLE    OP    TANAGEA 


509 


by  an  Athenian  fleet.  If  they  marched  through  Boeotia 
into  Megara  they  would  be  obliged  to  pass  over  and 
through  the  defiles  and  passes  of  Mount  Geraneia,  and 
the  Athenians  were  in  Megara,  and  held  the  port  of 
Pegae,  on  the  Corinthian  gulf.  They  concluded,  there- 
fore, to  remain  at  Thebes,  and  determine  how  they 
might  return  with  the  least  risk  and  danger  to  them- 
selves. They  encouraged  the  malcontents  in  Athens  to 
join  them  against  Pericles.  The  Athenians  were  aware 
of  the  embarrassment  of  the  army  in  Thebes  and  sus- 
pected treachery  at  Athens.  It  became  necessary,  there- 
fore, to  act  promptly  and  prevent  if  possible  the  es- 
cape of  the  enemy  from  Boeotia.  They  mustered  four- 
teen thousand  men,  which  included  a  thousand  Argives, 
and  contingents  from  other  allies,  and  among  them  a 
body  of  Thessalian  cavalry,  as  Thessaly  at  this  time 
was  an  ally  of  Athens. 

Tanagra  is  a  small  town  on  the  Asopus,  in  Boeotia, 
close  to  the  northern  frontier  of  Attica  about  fifteen 
miles  east  of  Thebes,  and  ^ve  miles  south  west  of 
Delium.  It  is  about  thirty  miles  almost  due  north  of 
Athens.  Here  the  Lacedaemonians  encamped  on  their 
march  from  Boeotia.  The  fact  that  they  did  not  take 
the  risk  of  returning  over  the  Thebes  road  to  the  west 
of  Tanagra,  which  runs  through  or  near  Plataea,  and 
thence  into  Megara,  sustained  the  belief  in  Athens,  that 
the  Lacedaemonians  expected  to  cooperate  with  the 
oligarchical  party  who  had  planned  a  revolt  against 
the  adherents  of  Pericles. 

A  bloody  engagement  took  place  at  Tanagra,  B.  C. 
457.  The  object  of  the  contestants  was  to  secure  su- 
premacy in  Boeotia.  It  was  the  first  spear  thrust,  the 
first  open  clash,  directly  between  the  forces  of  Sparta 
and  Athens,  after  the  recall  of  Pausanias,  B.  C.  478, 
and  the  domination  of  Athens  as  President  of  the  Con- 
federacy of  Delos.  The  struggle  resulted  in  the  tem- 
porary defeat  of  the  Athenians.    This  was  said  to  have 


HI 


510 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


been  occasioned  by  the  treachery  of  the  Thessalian 
cavalry,  who  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  the  fight  deserted 
to  the  enemy.  But  the  engagement  was  not  decisive, 
and  no  effort  was  made  by  the  Lacedaemonians  to  follow 
up  their  victory  by  seeking  to  reduce  Athens.  But  their 
success  enabled  them  to  proceed  unmolested  through 
northern  Attica,  and  through  the  passes  of  the  Gera- 
neian  mountains  to  Corinth  and  the  Peloponnese. 

Pericles  was  of  the  tribe  of  Acamantis  and  led  his 
tribesmen  at  Tanagra.  Cimon,  who  had  been  banished 
because  it  was  claimed  he  had  secretly  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  as  leader  of  the  oli- 
garchical party  was  not  to  be  trusted,  wished  to  blot 
out  forever  this  slander  against  his  good  name.  He 
wanted  to  prove  his  patriotic  devotion  to  his  country's 
cause,  by  joining  the  Athenians  in  their  efforts  to  de- 
feat the  Lacedaemonians  at  Tanagra.  He  was  of  the 
tribe  of  CEneis.  He  put  on  his  armor,  ranged  himself 
among  his  own  tribe  and  begged  Pericles  to  permit  him 
to  fight  with  the  rest  against  the  Spartans.  But  the 
council  of  Five  Hundred  would  not  trust  him,  and  be- 
lieved that  his  presence  in  the  army  was  to  aid  the 
enemy  rather  than  to  promote  the  cause  of  Athens.  He 
then  besought  about  one  hundred  of  his  followers  to 
show  to  their  countrymen  by  their  valor  and  fortitude 
their  absolute  innocence  of  the  insinuations  as  to  their 
loyalty.  As  an  incentive  to  deeds  of  patriotic  devotion, 
he  stripped  off  his  armor,  the  armor  he  had  worn  at  the 
memorable  battle  of  the  Eurymedon,  and  set  it  up 
among  his  devoted  followers,  who  rallied  round  it  in 
the  heat  of  the  engagement.  Bearing  the  arms  of 
Cimon,  they  went  into  the  conflict  and  displayed  un- 
usual courage.  Nearly  all  of  them  perished  at  Tana- 
gra, in  defense  of  Athens.  The  Athenians  were  con- 
vinced by  this  conduct  on  the  part  of  Cimon  that  the 
decree  of  banishment  against  him  was  unjust.  It  was 
reversed,  and  the  vote  in  the  assembly  was  taken  on  the 


BATTLE    OF    (ENOPHYTA 


Sir 


motion  of  Pericles,  who  introduced  the  resolution  to 
rescind  the  ostracism  against  his  political  rival,  which 
he  himself  had  procured.  The  aristocratic  party  at 
Athens  gained  nothing  by  the  Lacedaemonian  victory  at 
Tanagra,  and  took  no  measures  to  ally  themselves  with 
the  Thebans  or  Spartans.  But  the  advantages  lost 
by  the  Athenians  in  that  engagement  were  recovered 
sixty-two  days  later  at  (Enophyta,  where  they  gained  a 
decisive  victory  over  Theban  and  Boeotian  forces,  which 
gave  to  Pericles  and  his  party  supremacy  in  central 
Hellas,  and  enabled  Athens  to  establish  her  land  em- 
pire. 

When  Cimon  w  as  recalled  after  the  battle  of  Tana- 
gra, he  became  reconciled  with  Pericles,  and  the  con- 
spiracy against  democracy  died.  Athens,  united, 
planned  an  attack  on  Thebes,  the  ally  of  Sparta,  not 
only  to  wipe  out  the  stain  of  her  defeat  at  Tanagra, 
but  to  acquire  supremacy  in  Boeotia,  which  was  essential 
in  order  to  enable  her  to  establish  a  land  empire. 

CEnophyta  is  on  the  border  between  Boeotia  and  At- 
tica, about  three  miles  south  of  Tanagra,  where  the 
Athenians  had  defeated  the  Thebans,  B.  C.  456. 

The  former,  under  the  leadership  of  Myronides,  says 
Thucydides  (i,  108)  on  the  sixty-second  day  after  the 
battle  of  Tanagra,  marched  against  the  Boeotians,  and 
having  defeated  them  in  an  engagement  at  CEnophyta, 
made  themselves  masters  of  the  country  of  Boeotia  and 
Phocis  and  demolished  the  walls  of  the  Tanagreans. 
They  took  as  hostages  one  hundred  of  the  richest  men 
in  Locris,  and  finished  their  long  walls." 

The  walls  here  referred  to  connected  Athens  with 
her  two  harbors  or  port  towns  in  the  Saronic  Gulf, 
Phalerum  and  the  Piraeus.  The  walls  about  the  city 
were  finished  about  B.  C.  478,  the  year  after  the  defeat 
of  the  Persians  at  Plataea.  It  was  after  the  Athenian 
victory  at  (Enophyta,  that  the  walls  extending  to  the 
sea  were  finished,  one  to  the  harbor  of  Phalerum,  the 


512 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OP    GEEECE 


other  ^ to  the  Pir»us.  These  were  known  as  the  "  long 
waUs,"  as  distinguished  from  the  city  waUs  proper. 
The  waU  extending  to  Phalerum  connecting  the  outer 
city  wall  with  that  about  the  port  was  about  four  mUes 
long,  and  the  waU  to  the  Piraeus  about  four  and  a 
half  miles  in  length. 

Soon  after,  CEnophyta,  the  city  of  ^gina,  was  forced 
to  capitulate.  The  Athenians  became  masters  of  the 
island.  The  ^ginitans  were  obliged  to  dismantle  their 
walls,  surrender  their  ships  and  pay  a  forced  tribute 
into  the  treasury  at  Athens. 

The  victory  at  CEnophyta  made  Athens  master  of 
northern  and  central  Greece.  Her  supremacy  was  es- 
tabhshed  on  land  and  sea,  and  she  reached  the  height  of 
her  power  and  glory.  She  was  mistress  of  the  ^gean, 
of  Cyprus  and  of  the  west  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  She 
had  reduced  ^gina  to  slavery,  and  her  alliances  at 
home  made  her  master  of  the  territorv  of  northeastern 
Argohs,  Megara,  Phocis,  Locris,  Boeotia  and  Thessaly. 
The  exploits  of  Tolmides  and  Pericles,  which  will  now 
be  referred  to,  extended  her  dominions  to  Achaia,  also 
to  Acarnania,  and  .^tolia,  so  that  her  jurisdiction  ex- 
tended to  the  northern  and  southern  shores  of  the  Gulf 
of  Corinth. 

B.  C.  455,  the  year  after  the  victory  at  CEnophyta, 
the  Athenian  admiral  Tolmides  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  an  Athenian  fleet,  and  sent  on  an  expe- 
dition to  burn  and  plunder  the  coasts  of  the  Lace- 
demonians. He  circumnavigated  the  Peloponnesian 
peninsula,  destroyed  several  port  towns  and  sailing 
north  into  the  Ionian  Sea,  proceeded  into  the  Gulf  of 
Corinth,  making  conquests  in  Achaia,  and  Acarnania, 
iEtoha  and  Locris.  He  reduced  Naupactus  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Corinthian  Gulf,  took  the  Corinthian  town 
of  Chalcis  in  ^tolia,  and  made  a  descent  on  the  city 
of  Sicyon,  and  defeated  its  army  in  the  field.  About 
this  time  the  Third  Messenian  War  ended,  the  Helots 


MIUTAEY   EXPLOITS    OP    PEEICLE8 


SI3 


and  their  allies,  after  nearly  ten  years  of  hostihties, 
surrendered  on  condition  that  they  might  be  permitted 
to  depart  with  their  wives  and  families,  and  under  the 
protection  of  Tolmides,  were  conducted  to  Naupactus, 
where  they  settled  and  became  allies  of  the  Athe- 
nians. 

The  achievements  of  Tolmides,  B.  C.  455,  were  sup- 
plemented the  following  year  by  extensive  operations 
conducted  by  Pericles.  With  a  fleet  of  one  hundred 
galleys  he  sailed  out  of  the  harbor  of  Fegse,  or  The 
Fountains,  on  the  northern  coast  of  Megara,  in  the 
gulf  of  Corinth.  His  first  objective  was  the  city  of 
Sicyon  in  the  State  of  Corinth,  whose  arms  had  suf- 
fered defeat  the  previous  year  at  the  hands  of  Tol- 
mides. He  landed  with  one  thousand  hoplites.  An  en- 
gagement took  place,  in  which  the  Athenians  were  suc- 
cessful, in  that  they  drove  the  enemy  from  the  field,  but 
were  unable  to  take  their  city.  Pericles  did  not  deem 
it  expedient  to  interrupt  his  raid  in  the  enemy's  country 
by  a  prolonged  siege  of  a  walled  city.  He  saOed  to  the 
shores  of  Acarnania,  and  after  ravaging  her  coasts,  in 
the  localities  occupied  by  Corinthian  and  Peloponnesian 
allies  of  Sparta,  returned  to  Attica. 

While  Athens  thus  strengthened  her  influence  and 
extended  her  power  in  Greece,  her  arms  were  defeated 
in  Egypt,  whither  they  had  been  assigned  to  aid  Inarus, 
the  Libyan  King,  in  his  rebellion  against  the  Persians. 
In  that  disastrous  war,  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  the 
Athenian  forces  and  the  Libyan  insurgents  were  driven 
out  of  Memphis,  and  were  practically  annihilated, 
after  a  series  of  campaigns  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs, 
covering  a  period  of  about  six  years. 

An  attempt  was  made,  B.  C.  455,  on  the  part  of 
Athens,  at  the  request  of  her  Thessalian  allies  to  restore 
Orestes,  the  exiled  son  of  the  Thessalian  King,  but  in 
this,  though  aided  by  a  force  of  Boeotians  and  Phocians, 
who  were  now  their  allies,  the  Thessalian  cavalry,  by 


SI4 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


ATHENIAN    DEFEAT    AT    CORONEA 


515 


their  superior  tact  and  destructive  raids,  forced  the 
Athenians  and  their  alh'es  to  retire.  Pericles  then,  B.  C. 
454,  sailed  on  a  second  expedition  from  Pegae,  and 
coasted  as  far  as  Sicyon  and  again  defeated  their  army. 
But  as  Pericles  was  merely  on  a  marauding  expedition, 
he  made  no  attempt  to  besiege  the  city,  quitted  Sicyon, 
crossed  the  gulf  of  Corinth  to  the  shores  of  Acarnania, 
and  besieged  and  attacked  CEniadse,  but  failing  to  re- 
duce it,  returned  home. 

The  Lacedaemonians  were  exhausted  with  ten  years 
of  intestine  war,  occasioned  by  the  revolt  of  the  Helots 
and  their  Messenian  allies,  and  were  weakened  by  the 
great  calamity  which  had  befallen  their  city  which  was 
practically  destroyed  by  an  earthquake,  just  before 
the  outbreak  of  the  revolution  in  Messenia.  For  throe 
years  after  the  close  of  the  Third  Messenian  War,  they 
remained  inactive  and  then,  B.  C.  452,  concluded  a  five 
years'  truce  with  Athens.  They  doubtless  welcomed 
this  respite  in  order  that  they  might  prepare  for  the 
final  struggle  for  the  supremacy  of  Greece.  Athens, 
being  now  at  peace,  planned  an  expedition  against 
Cyprus,  B.  C.  452.  The  Athenians  sent  out  a  power- 
ful fleet  of  two  hundred  ships  under  Cimon,  to  subdue 
the  island.  While  the  great  admiral  was  engaged  in 
this  campaign  conducting  operations  against  Citium, 
B.  C.  449,  he  died,  before  his  ambitious  designs  were 
accomplished. 

For  nine  years  Athens  had  been  supreme  on  land 
and  sea.  She  did  not  retain  her  supremacy  in  Hellas, 
by  maintaining  garrisons  in  the  various  cities  and 
towns  within  her  dominions  and  subject  territory.  She 
did  not  rely  upon  military  occupation  to  secure  the  re- 
tention of  her  power,  but  sought  to  maintain  her  su- 
premacy, by  establishing  everywhere  republics  instead 
of  oligarchies.  This  policy  was  based  upon  the  assump- 
tion that  the  masses  loved  liberty,  rather  than  semi- 
slavery  which  was  the  condition  which  prevailed  under 


an  oligiarchy.  Accordingly,  a  democracy  was  estab- 
lished at  Thebes,  and  in  the  other  cities  and  towns 
throughout  the  allied  territory,  because  Pericles  be- 
lieved that  the  expulsion  of  the  oligarchical  party, 
where  such  parties  had  formerly  prevailed,  and  the 
substitution  of  a  popular  party,  would  suffice  to  hold 
the  towns  and  cities  in  their  allegiance  to  Athens.  This 
hypothesis  proved  to  be  a  delusion. 

After  the  battle  of  (Enophyta  (B.  C.  457),  and  after 
democracy  had  been  substituted  for  oligarchy  in  Cen- 
tral Greece,  the  leaders  of  the  oligarchical  party  in 
Boeotia,  Locris,  Euboea,  ^gina,  and  elsewhere,  became 
exiles.  They  were,  in  a  sense,  expatriated,  and  con- 
tinually plotted  with  the  enemies  of  Athens,  ready  to 
rise  and  attack  the  Athenians  when  dissensions  and  dis- 
cords, which  they  continually  fomented,  afforded  an 
opportunity  of  success.  Although  the  Five  Years' 
Peace  had  not  yet  expired,  and  the  insurgents  and  revo- 
lutionists for  that  reason  were  unable  to  secure  aid 
from  the  Lacednemonians,  they  nevertheless  continued  to 
stir  up  strife  and  disorder,  and  aroused  a  spirit  of  re- 
bellion in  the  frontier  towns  of  Boeotia.  Complaints 
were  made  continually  by  those  who  supported  the 
democracy  in  these  localities,  and  the  Athenians  deter- 
mined to  put  down  this  incipient  rebellion. 

Tolmides  was  anxious  to  undertake  an  expedition  to 
the  frontiers  of  Boeotia,  to  restore  peace  and  tranquil- 
lity, among  the  inhabitants  who  looked  to  Athens  to 
maintain  their  supremacy  against  the  oligarchical 
party.  He  had  won  fame  and  distinction  on  his  expe- 
dition around  the  shores  of  the  Peloponnese,  having  cir- 
cumnavigated the  peninsula,  ravaged  the  sea  and  plun- 
dered the  coasts  of  the  enemy,  he  had  taken  Naupactus, 
and  displayed  marked  ability  as  a  naval  and  military 
commander.  His  success  in  the  past  made  him  rash  and 
over-confident.  This  rashness  contributed  to  his  de- 
feat at  Coronea,  where  he  lost  his  life,  a  disaster  which 


Si6 


MILITAKT   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


cost  Athens  the  ascendancy  she  had  acquired  in  Hellas, 
and  the  loss  of  her  land  empire. 

Coronea  is  a  town  near  the  western  frontier  of 
Boeotia,  about  ten  miles  southeast  of  Chferonca,  the 
birthplace  of  the  illustrious  Plutarch,  and  five  miles 
west  of  the  southern  shore  and  marshes  of  Lake 
Copais.  These  towns,  and  others  on  the  frontier,  had 
fallen  mto  the  hands  of  the  oligarchical  exiles,  from  the 
various  BcEotian  towns,  and  were  hostile  to  the  repub- 
licans. 

Tolmides,  at  the  head  of  one  thousand  Athenian  hop- 
Iites,  recruited  largely  from  the  first  families  in  Athens 
with  a  body  of  auxiliary  troops,  hastened  to  the  relief 
of  the  border  towns  in  Boeotia.     Pericles  advised  cau- 
tion and  admonished  Tolmides  to  wait  until  he  could 
niuster  a  larger  force.     The  young  bloods  of  Athens, 
however,  were  ambitious  and  ready  to  follow  their  re- 
nowned comamnder.     In  their  enthusiasm  they  disre- 
garded the  sage  advice  of  the  cautious  and  prudent 
Pericles.     Tolmides  also  was  impatient  to  advance ;   the 
people  sided  with  him,  and  he  was  ordered  to  the  fron- 
tiers of  Boeotia.     He  directed  his  march  to  Chsronea 
and  Orchomenus,  which  were  then  in  possession  of  the 
insurgents.     He  was  successful  in  driving  the  enemv 
from  these  places.     He  stationed  a  garrison  in  Chj^ 
ronea,  to  protect  the  inhabitants  from  future  disturb- 
ances, and  marched  south  to  Coronea,  where  the  enemy 
had  secretly  assembled  in  force.    When  he  reached  that 
town,  he  was  surprised,  and  in  the  bloody  engagement 
which  followed,  B.  C.  447,  the  valiant  Tolmides  was 
killed;    his  forces  were  overwhelmingly  defeated,  and 
many  Athenians  were  made  prisoners. 

The  result  of  the  disaster  at  Coronea  was  far-reach- 
ing, and  its  consequences  led  to  the  disintegration  of 
the  land  empire  of  Athens.  By  reason  of  the  fact  that 
^^^  ^^^  Athenian  prisoners  attached  to  the  army 
of  Tolmides  were  of  distinguished  famiHes,  Pericles,  in 


ATHENS  LOSES    HEE    LAND    EMPIEE 


517 


order  to  secure  their  release,  was  obliged  to  submit  to 
the  most  disgraceful  and  humiliating  terms,  just  as 
Sparta  twenty  years  later,  B.  C.  425,  after  the  defeat 
at  Pylus  and  Sphacteria,  where  Brasidas  was  wounded 
and  many  of  the  noble  Dorian  families  were  made  pris- 
oners, was  forced  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
Nicias,  on  terms  involving  the  disgrace  of  Sparta. 

In  order  to  enable  the  Athenians  to  secure  the  release 
of  their  prominent  and  influential  citizens,  after  the 
battle  of  Coronea,  they  were  compelled  to  evacuate 
Boeotia.  The  relinquishment  by  Athens  of  this  impor- 
tant State,  the  closest  neighbor  of  Attica  on  the  north, 
was  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  her  land  empire.  The 
allied  exiles,  elated  by  their  great  success,  became  active 
in  Phocis,  Locris  and  Euboea,  overthrew  their  republics, 
reestablished  in  the  two  states  first  named  oligarchical 
government,  and  dissolved  their  allegiance  to  Athens. 

The  victory  of  Athens  at  (Enophyta  and  her  defeat 
at  Coronea  marked  the  rise  and  fall  of  her  land  empire, 
for  what  she  gained  at  CEnophyta  she  lost  at  Coronea. 

But  while  Sparta  was  successful  on  land,  she  was  un- 
able to  defeat  her  rival  as  a  maritime  power.  Athens 
was  still  mistress  of  the  seas.  The  duel  between  these 
noted  cities  was  finally  fought  to  a  finish,  in  the  Pelo- 
ponnesian  War,  a  struggle  which  continued  for  a  period 
of  twenty-seven  years.  That  conflict  was  postponed 
through  the  diplomacy  of  Pericles,  who  was  successful 
soon  afterwards  in  negotiating  a  treaty  with  the  Lace- 
daemonians, which  is  known  as  the  Thirty  Years'  Peace. 


m 


CIMON    DISFRANCHISED 


SI9 


CHAPTER    XXXV 


CIMON 


jIIVION,  the  only  son  of  Miltiades,  was  of  the 
tribe  of  CEnels.  His  services  to  his  country 
were  equally  as  important  as  those  rendered 
by  his  illustrious  father.  He  expelled  the 
Persians  from  Europe,  the  ^Cgean  sea,  and 
the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor,  and  as  commander-in-chief 
of  the  Athenian  navy  established  the  Athenian  Empire. 
We  can  but  conjecture  as  to  his  age.  The  ancient 
writers  do  not  mention  the  year  of  his  birth.  He  died, 
B.  C.  449,  while  conducting  naval  operations  against 
the  island  of  Cyprus.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Salamis,  B.  C.  480,  having  acquitted  himself  witli  honor, 
and  rendered  material  assistance  to  Themistocles,  at 
that  critical  period  of  his  country's  history.  Plutarch 
says  that  at  that  time  he  was  very  young,  and  his  years 
were  not  strengthened  by  experience.  If  we  assume 
that  "  very  young  "  means  that  he  was  twenty-three, 
when  that  engagement  took  place,  he  must  have  been 
born  B.  C.  503.  Consequently  he  was  but  fourteen 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  B.  C.  489, 
the  year  after  the  battle  of  Marathon;  and  attained 
the  age  of  fifty-four,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  B.  C.  449. 
Cimon  possessed  all  the  abilities  of  his  father,  coupled 
with  the  shrewdness  of  Themistocles  and  the  integrity 
of  his  compatriot  Aristides.  Plutarch  says  "  he  was  as 
daring  as  Miltiades,  and  not  inferior  to  Themistocles 
in  judgment  and  incomparably  more  just  and  honest 
than  either  of  them."     In  him  were  united  the  qualities 

518 


which  peculiarly  fitted  him  to  lead  the  armament  gath- 
ered through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Confederacy  of 
Delos,  and  enabled  him  to  build  up  the  Athenian  Em- 
pire, with  Athens  as  the  greatest  commercial  mart  in 
Europe,  and  the  most  powerful  city  of  the  world. 

Owing  to  the  injustice  of  Attic  Law,  Cimon  became 
the  victim  of  his  father's  delinquencies.  Miltiades  was 
prosecuted  by  Xanthippus,  the  father  of  Pericles,  for 
"  deceiving  the  people  "  in  connection  with  his  ill-fated 
expedition  to  the  island  of  Paros.  He  was  convicted, 
but  in  view  of  the  great  services  he  had  rendered  his 
country,  his  judges  refused  to  inflict  the  death  penalty, 
but  imposed  a  fine  upon  him  of  fifty  talents,  equivalent 
to  more  than  $50,000.  He  was  unable  to  discharge  the 
obligation,  and  died  in  prison,  according  to  some  au- 
thorities, shortly  after  his  trial.  Cimon  was  greatly 
attached  to  his  father,  and  such  was  his  devotion,  that 
when  Miltiades  died,  Cimon,  according  to  Diodorus,^  in 
order  to  secure  his  corpse  for  burial,  willingly  sur- 
rendered himself,  and  took  his  father's  place  in  prison. 

Under  the  law  of  Athens,  Cimon,  his  heir,  became  re- 
sponsible for  the  fine  which  had  been  imposed  upon  his 
father,  and  in  addition  lost  his  civil  rights,  which  could 
not  be  restored  until  the  obligation  against  the  estate 
was  discharged.  Had  not  a  fortunate  chain  of  cir- 
cumstances relieved  Cimon  of  the  disabilities  in  which 
he  was  placed  by  reason  of  his  poverty,  the  avenues  of 
opportunity  would  have  been  forever  closed  to  him,  and 
Athens  would  have  lost  the  benefit  of  the  distinguished 
services,  which  he  subsequently  rendered  to  his  country. 

Under  Attic  Law,  the  heir  inherited  the  estate  of  his 
ancestor,  but  he  took  the  inheritance  cum  onere,  that  is, 
subject  to  the  payment  of  the  debts  of  the  ancestor. 


'Diodorus,  Frag.  51. 

*See  Gardner  and  Jevons  Manual  of  Greek  Antiquities:  Attic 
Law,  p.  548. 


S20 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


The  injustice  of  the  law  was  embraced  in  the  provision, 
that  these  debts  were  not  only  a  lien  upon  all  the  prop- 
erty of  which  the  ancestor  died  seized  and  possessed, 
but  became  also  personal  obligations  of  the  heir,  which 
the  latter  was  bound  to  pay.  If  the  property  of  the 
decedent  was  not  sufficient  to  discharge  them,  the  heir 
was  nevertheless  bound  to  pay  them  from  his  own  means, 
or  from  property  which  he  had  acquired  by  his  own 
efforts,  or  from  whatever  source.  If  Cimon  had  not 
received  from  his  brother-in-law,  Callias,  the  money 
with  which  to  pay  his  father's  fine,  Pericles,  the  son  of 
Xanthippus,  would  have  had  no  political  rival  in  Cimon 
the  son  of  Miltiades ;  because  until  all  the  obligations 
of  the  ancestor  had  been  discharged,  his  heir  was  dis- 
franchised, and  not  eligible  to  public  office. 

The  law  with  regard  to  imprisonment  for  debt  estab- 
Lshed  by  the  cultivated  and  enlightened  Athenians  at 
this  period  was  unduly  severe.  It  lacked  the  humane 
provisions  contained  in  the  laws  of  the  Babylonians 
enacted  nearly  two  thousand  years  earlier.  In  1913 
there  was  discovered  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  a 
tablet  containing  many  of  the  missing  laws  from  the 
Code  of  Hamurabi,  who  ruled  in  Babylon,  2100  to  2300 
B.  C,  nearly  two  thousand  years  before  the  time  of 
Cimon.  These  laws  in  many  respects  are  similar  to  the 
laws  of  Moses.  Among  the  Normans  and  Anglo-Saxons 
to  the  time  of  the  Norman  conquest,  the  creditor  was 
permitted  to  seize  the  debtor  and  sell  him  as  a  slave. 
It  seems  that  under  the  Code  of  Hamurabi,  which  has 
recently  been  unearthed,  the  debtor,  when  he  had 
stripped  himself  of  his  property,  was  permitted  to  take 
a  receipt  for  his  goods  and  estate  which  he  had  sur- 
rendered, in  the  presence  of  two  witnesses,  and  was  then 
entitled  to  his  discharge,  just  as  a  debtor  under  our 
bankrupt  act  is  entitled  to  a  discharge  in  bankruptcy. 
This  Babylonian  statute  was  doubtless  confined  to  or- 
dinary debts,  recoverable  in  a  civil  action.     Whether 


ELPINICE,    SISTER    OF    CIMOW 


521 


it  applied  to  a  debt  imposed  as  a  penalty  for  crime,  we 
are  not  informed. 

Although  Miltiades  left  but  one  son,  he  was  survived 
also  by  a  daughter,  Elpinice,  who  after  their  father's 
death  continued  to  reside  with  her  brother  Cimon.  El- 
pinice was  an  exceptionally  attractive  and  accomplished 
woman.  She  was  a  favorite  with  the  artist  Polygnotus, 
whose  paintings  adorned  the  portico  of  the  Propylea 
on  the  Acropolis.  The  artistic  eye  of  the  eminent 
painter  was  attracted  by  her  perfect  figure,  pleasing 
countenance,  fair  complexion,  and  the  wealth  of  golden 
hair  that  crowned  her  temples.  Indeed,  Pericles,  the 
rival  of  Cimon,  greatly  admired  her  charms  and  accom- 
plishments, and  was  numbered  among  her  suitors.  As 
both  Cimon  and  his  sister  were  without  means,  it  is  said 
the  law  did  not  take  notice  of  the  illicit  relations  which 
it  was  whispered  existed  between  them.  These  stories, 
however,  we  may  safely  assume  were  without  foundation 
and  originated  with  political  enemies  of  Cimon.  This 
belief  is  justified  by  the  fact  that  among  the  distin- 
guished men,  in  her  circle  of  acquaintances,  was  Cal- 
lias, the  son  of  Hipponicus,  one  of  the  wealthiest  men 
in  Athens,  noted  for  his  munificence,  and  generosity. 
He  became  enamored  of  Elpinice  and  sought  her  hand 
in  marriage.  It  would  seem  that  under  Attic  Law, 
in  order  to  marry  her,  Callias  was  obliged  to  first  se- 
cure the  consent  of  her  brother,  Cimon.  However  this 
may  be,  the  consent  was  obtained,  and  Cimon  gave  his 
sister  to  her  wealthy  suitor.  Whether  there  was  any 
legal  obligation  on  the  part  of  Callias  to  pay  the  debt 
of  her  father  or  her  brother,  before  he  could  lawfully 
wed  Elpinice,  we  are  not  informed,  but  when  the  cere- 
mony was  performed,  the  fine  imposed  on  Miltiades  and 
for  which  Cimon  became  personally  liable,  was  paid. 
This  act,  whether  prompted  by  the  love  Callias  bore  his 
wife,  and  the  esteem  he  entertained  for  her  brother, 
removed  all  social  and  political  barriers  from  the  path 


522 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


CIMON    AN    ADMIRAL 


523 


of  Cimon,  and  he  became  eligible  to  the  honors  which 
his  countrymen  subsequently  conferred  upon  him. 

When  Themistoclcs,  after  the  battle  of  ThermopylT, 
advised  the  Athenians  to  forsake  their  city  and  the 
shores  of  Attica,  carry  their  arms  on  ship  board,  and 
fight  Xerxes,  in  the  straits  of  Salamis,  while  many 
deemed  it  rash  and  almost  madness,  Cimon  gathered 
about  him  a  large  number  of  the  young  men  of  Athens, 
and  forming  them  into  a  procession,  marched  at  their 
head  to  the  citadel  carrying  m  nis  hand  a  bridle,  to  offer 
to  the  goddess  as  an  indication  that  the  salvation  of 
Athens  was  not  with  cavalry,  upon  the  land  on  the  back 
of  the  war  steed,  to  await  the  assailing  horse  and  foot, 
but  upon  the  sea,  where  horse  and  bridle  were  of  no 
avail.  He  then  offered  the  bridle  in  his  devotions  to  the 
goddess,  took  from  the  walls  of  the  temple  a  buckler, 
proceeded  thence  to  the  port,  with  his  companions,  and 
went  aboard  the  fleet.  Thus  Cimon  "  gave  confidence 
to  many  of  the  citizens." 

What  we  know  of  his  life  consists  practically  in  the 
record  of  his  naval  campaigns.  The  name  of  Themis- 
tocles  is  immortal,  because  he  alone  is  entitled  to  credit 
for  the  engagement  at  Salamis,  which  was  fought  at 
the  most  critical  time  in  the  history  of  Greece.  Salamis 
was  the  turning  point  of  the  Persian  War,  and  made 
success  at  Plataea,  the  following  year,  comparatively 
easy,  by  reason  of  the  great  reputation  won  by  the 
Greeks  at  Marathon  and  Salamis. 

But  the  numerous  and  continued  successes  of  Cimon 
added  to  the  glory  of  Greece  and  the  aggrandizement 
of  Athens.  He  not  only  compelled  the  Persians  to 
evacuate  Europe,  but  drove  them  back  from  the  shores 
of  Asia  Minor,  so  that  not  so  much  as  a  letter  carrier, 
or  a  single  horseman  was  ever  seen  to  come  within  four 
hundred  furlongs  of  the  sea. 

After  the  treason  of  Pausanlas,  when  the  Grecian 
fleet  refused  longer  to  obey  him,  they  petitioned  Aris- 


tides  and  Cimon  to  take  command.  Aristldes  was  an 
enemy  and  rival  of  Themistocles.  They  differed  polit- 
ically. Aristides  believed  in  a  moderate  aristocracy. 
Themistocles  was  the  great  clmmplon  of  democracy. 
Themistocles  was  bold  and  ingenious,  and  interfered 
with  the  plans  of  his  rival  Aristides.  The  latter,  how- 
ever, was  very  popular  and  reputed  the  most  just  man 
in  Athens.  He  loved  Cimon,  used  all  his  influence  to 
promote  his  fortunes,  and  urged  his  appointment  as 
admiral.  So  great  was  the  popularity  of  the  latter 
that  at  Byzantium,  when  the  fleet  rebelled  against  the 
selfish,  vain,  arrogant  and  treasonable  Pausanlas,  the 
former  was  sent  out  as  admiral  with  Aristides. 

His  first  success  was  on  the  coast  of  Thrace,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Strymon,  B.  C.  471.  He  invaded  the  in- 
terior, cut  off  the  base  of  supplies  from  Eion  and  Am- 
phipolis,  took  Eion  (q.  v.)  and  put  Thrace  and  the 
region  about  the  river  Strymon  in  possession  of  the 
Athenians.  This  country  was  rich  in  timber,  adapted 
to  agriculture,  and  contained  rich  mines  of  gold  and 
silver. 

After  Eion,  Cimon  led  an  expedition  against  the 
piratical  island  of  Scyros  (B.  C.  470),  from  which  he 
expelled  the  Dolopian  pirates  and  annexed  it  as  Athe- 
nian territory.  He  fought  the  Carystians  who  dwelt 
on  the  island  of  Euboea,  and  quelled  the  revolt  which 
they  had  instigated,  and  prevented  hostilities  from 
spreading  over  the  island.  He  was  sent  B.  C.  467  to 
the  island  of  Naxos,  a  member  of  the  Confederacy  of 
Delos  (q.  v.),  and  the  first  among  the  allies  to  revolt 
from  that  alliance,  and  reduced  its  inhabitants  to  sub- 
mission. 

His  greatest  military  achievement  was  his  double 
victory  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eurymedon,  in  Pamphylia, 
B.  C.  466.  The  Persians  were  collecting  their  forces 
preparatory  to  a  fresh  attempt  to  subjugate  Greece. 
A  fleet  and  a  land  force  was  on  the  Eurymedon  await- 


524 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


ing  the  arrival  of  a  contingent  of  eighty  Phoenician  ves- 
sels.   Cimon  attacked  and  defeated  the  fleet,  and  then  as 
the  army  drew  towards  the  sea,  paused  as  if  in  doubt 
whether    to    attack,    his    men    being    wearied    by    the 
slaughter  in  the  first  engagement.     But  seeing  the  men 
grow  enthusiastic,  as   if  eager  to  finish   on   land,  the 
work  they  had  begun  on  the  sea,  they  disembarked  and 
set  upon  the  Persians,  who  withstood  with  firmness  the 
shock  of  the  first  impact.    The  Athenians  finally  routed 
the  barbarians,  put  them  to  flight,  and  plundered  their 
tents  and  pavillions.     "  Cimon,"  says  Plutarch,  "  like 
a  skilled  athlete  at  the  games,  having  in  one  day  car- 
ried off  two  victories,  wherein  he  surpassed  that  of  Sal- 
amis  by  sea,  and  that  of  Plataea  by  land,  was  encour- 
aged to  try  for  yet  another  success."     Accordingly, 
Cimon  set  off  to  engage  the  fleet  of  eighty  Phoenician 
sail  which  had  come  in  sight  at  Hydrum,  and  having 
overtaken  the  enemy  destroyed  them  before  they  had 
learned  of  the  defeat  of  their  allies  in  Pamphylia.   Then 
the  King  of  Persia  made  peace  and  engaged  that  his 
armies  should  come  no  nearer  the  sea  than  the  length 
of  a  horse's  course. 

Cimon's  fame  increased  and  his  public  career  ran 
smoothly  until  B.  C.  465,  when  he  was  sent  with  a  fleet 
to  the  northern  ^gean  or  sea  of  Thrace,  to  reduce  the 
island  of  Thasos.  It  is  situated  about  five  miles  off  the 
mainland,  and  about  forty  miles  east  of  Eion  and  Am- 
phipolis,  on  the  river  Strymon.  The  island  is  eighteen 
miles  long  from  north  to  south,  and  some  fifteen  miles 
across.  Like  Naxos,  Thasos  was  a  member  of  the  Con- 
federacy of  Delos.  The  former  was  the  first  of  the 
allies  to  renounce  its  allegiance  to  the  league.  But  the 
reasons  assigned  by  Athens  to  bolster  up  its  pretext 
for  sending  a  squadron  to  subjugate  Thasos,  did  not 
arise  from  any  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Thaslans 
to  repudiate  their  obligations  to  the  Confederacy. 
Their  quarrel  with  Athens  was  with  regard  to  certain 


MASSACRE    OF    ATHENIAN    C0L0NIST8 


525 


territory  on  the  mainland  in  Thrace,  and  the  right  to 
participate  in  the  revenues  of  certain  gold  mines  at  or 
near  Mount  Pangaeus,  which  were  being  worked  by  the 
Thracians,  from  which  the  Thasians  received  the 
profits.  After  Cimon  had  reduced  Eion  on  the  Strymon, 
six  years  before  (B.  G.  471),  as  narrated  above,  the 
value  of  these  mines  aroused  the  cupidity  of  the  Athe- 
nians, who  sent  a  colony  of  ten  thousand  into  the  coun- 
try inhabited  by  the  Edoni,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Nine 
Ways,  which  afterwards  became  the  site  of  Amphipolis. 
They  then  advanced  into  the  interior.  The  Thracians, 
whose  country  was  threatened  by  the  newcomers,  united 
with  the  Edonians.  A  battle  ensued  at  Drabescus  in 
Edonia,  which  resulted  in  the  overwhelming  defeat  of 
the  colonists,  who  were  massacred  almost  to  a  man. 
The  inroads  of  the  Athenians  interfered  materially  with 
the  interests  of  the  Thasians,  who  had  formed  a  sort 
of  commercial  partnership  with  the  Thracians  who 
worked  the  mines.  It  was  believed  at  Athens  that  the 
Thasians  secretly  aided  the  Thracians  in  the  affair  at 
Drabescus,  and  this  it  is  believed  was  the  cause  of  the 
war.  The  former  had  become  possessed  of  consider- 
able territory  on  the  mainland  in  these  nearby  regions. 
Their  island  was  only  forty  miles  distant  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Styrmon,  but  half  a  day's  sail  from 
Eion.  We  have  no  detailed  account  of  the  quarrel  be- 
tween the  Athenians  and  the  Thasians  at  this  time. 
There  is  no  record  of  any  attempt  on  the  part  of 
Athens  to  submit  to  arbitration  her  differences  with 
her  ally.  The  Athenians  had  the  power  of  a  giant,  and 
used  it  like  a  giant.  Cimon  was  ordered  to  Thasos 
with  a  strong  fleet,  with  instructions  to  reduce  the 
island  to  subjection.  He  defeated  the  Thasians  in  a 
sea  fight,  and  blockaded  their  ports.  It  was  the  battle 
of  the  strong  against  the  weak.  The  Thasians  be- 
lieved they  were  in  the  right,  and  that  they  should  have 
been  protected  in  their  rights  by  Athens,  who  was  their 


526 


MIUTAKY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


ally,  and  the  head  of  their  confederacy,  instead  of  be- 
ing forced  not  only  to  give  up  their  lands  and  mines 
in  Trace,  but  commanded  to  surrender  their  island 
home,  and  become  subjects  and  practically  slaves  of 
Athens.  In  view  of  the  unfair  conduct  of  the  Athe- 
nians, perhaps  the  slaughter  of  their  colonists  may  be 
regarded  as  an  act  of  retributive  justice,  visited  upon 
them  by  divine  providence.  The  Thasians,  notwith- 
standing they  were  besieged  by  a  fleet  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  invincible  Cimon,  determined  to  resist  to 
the  last.  Liberty  was  sweet,  and  the  Thasians,  as  a 
last  resort,  appealed  secretly  to  the  Lacedaemonians  for 
succor.  The  latter  heard  their  appeal  and  prepared 
to  furnish  them  substantial  aid,  and  make  war  upon 
Athens. 

The  hand  of  providence  interposed.  Just  as  the 
Lacedaemonians  were  about  to  send  an  army  to  invade 
Attica,  an  earthquake  shook  the  valley  of  the  Eurotas 
and  destroyed  the  city  of  Sparta,  B.  C.  464,  and  more 
than  20,000  of  its  inhabitants  perished.  Sparta,  how- 
ever, had  been  an  oppressor  as  well  as  Athens.  For 
years  they  had  warred  to  enslave  the  Messenians  and 
the  Helots,  their  neighbors  on  the  west,  and  keep  them 
in  bondage.  The  military  operations  against  these 
people  are  known  as  the  third  IMcssenian  War. 

When  the  earthauake  demolished  Sparta,  and  des- 
troyed thousands  of  her  people,  the  downtrodden  and 
oppressed  Helots  took  advantage  of  the  calamity  to 
secure  their  freedom.  They  immediately  revolted  and 
marched  into  the  valley  of  the  Eurotas.  They  were 
repulsed  and  driven  into  Messenia,  and  with  the  aid 
of  the  Messenians,  fortified  themselves  in  the  moun- 
tains, and  occupied  the  inaccessible  heights  of  Mount 
Ithome,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Messene.  The  strug- 
gle to  subjugate  these  people  continued  for  a  period 
of  nearly  ten  years. 

By  reason  of  the  earthquake,  and  the  war  which  en- 


CIMON    TRIED    FOR    HIS    LIFE 


527 


sued,  the  Spartans  were  unable  to  keep  their  promise 
to  aid  the  Thasians,  by  sending  an  army  secretly  to 
invade  Attica.     On  the  contrary,  they  were  obbged  to 
seek  the  assistance  of  the  Athenians  to  enable  them  to 
dislodge    their    enemies    from    Mount    Ithome.      This 
peculiar  combination  of  circumstances  involved  Cimon, 
whose  love   for  the  Lacedaemonians  prompted  him  to 
come  to  their  aid.     He  used  all  his  influence  to  per- 
suade his  countrymen  to  send  an  army  to  Messenia,  at 
the    behest    of    Sparta.      The    Democratic    party    m 
Athens,  led  by  Ephialtes  and  Pericles,  opposed  Cimon. 
They  did  what  they  could  to  persuade  the  Public  As- 
sembly to   deny  his   request.      They   argued  that  the 
latter  was  more  friendly  to  the  Spartans  than  was  con- 
sistent with  loyalty  to  the  Athenians.    That  the  former 
were  the  secret  foes  of  Athens  and  would  destroy  her 
supremacy  if  they  could,  and  that  Cimon,  in  seeking  to 
befriend  them  was  guilty  of  disloyalty.     They  msisted 
that  as  soon  as  the  island  of  Thasos  had  been   sub- 
iufrated,  he  should  forthwith  proceed  to  the  mainland 
and  invade  Macedonia  and  Thrace,  and  make  her  ter- 
ritory part  of  the  Athenian  Empire. 

As  has  been  observed,  the  island  of  Thasos  was  but 
half  a  day's  sail  from  the  mouth  of  the  Strymon,  and 
after  the  reduction  of  Thasos  the  way  was  open  to  in- 
vade Macedonia.  But  Cimon  chose  rather  to  devote 
his  energies  to  aid  the  Lacedaemonians  m  their  struggle 
with  the  Helots,  than  to  gain  new  conquests  on  the 
shores  of  Thrace.  At  all  events,  after  the  surrender 
of  the  Thasians,  he  did  not  land  his  troops  on  the  main- 
land, nor  make  any  attempt  to  march  agamst  the 
armies  of  Alexander  of  Macedon. 

His  conduct,  in  this  regard,  brought  upon  him  the 
severe  criticism  of  his  enemies.  He  was  openly  charged 
with  having  been  bribed  by  Alexander  because  he 
neglected  the  opportunity  to  invade  his  kingdom  and 
was  accused  also  of  treason  for  failure  to  act  upon  the 


5^8 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


01  Athens  Charges  were  preferred  against  him,  and 
he  was  put  on  trial  for  his  life. 

Cilon";),?. ^*'  ^.Tru?'^"^''^'  '^'^*°'"y  ^^P^'^t^d  itself. 
Cnion    the  son  of  Miltiades,  was  tried  by  Pericles,  the 

7.lrAy    i^fT'  '*"  ^^'^^^'^'  th«=  father  of  Cimon, 

i«>;*„  r  r.-  ^'■'^'^^^s-  out  SO  great  was  the  popu- 
ianty  of  Cimon,  and  so  valuable  and  extensive  were  the 
services  he  had  rendered  to  his  country,  and  the  riches 

pJri    u  *°  *,^'  P"'''''=  *'^*^"^J^  °^  Athens,  that 

£n    and  P-""'  ""''^  -^  Perfunctory  in  his  pr;secu- 
tion,  and  C.mon  was  acquitted.    Whether  the  influence 
of  Elpm.ce,  sister  of  Cimon,  who  at  the  time  was  the 
beautiful  wife  of  Callias,  whose  charms,  prior  to  her 
marnage  had  attracted  the  attention  of  Pericles,  in- 
formed ^^  °"  *'*''  °"*''°"  ""^  *'«  »°t  «- 
The  struggle   of  the  common   people  for  popular 
rights  continued  at  Athens.     After^he  death  of  Ans- 
tides,  who  was  a  leader  of  the  conservative  party,  and 
the   banishment   of   the   great   democratic   champion, 
rhemistocles,  the  conservatives  sought  the  influence  of 
Cimon,  whose  popularity  made  him  one  of  the  first  citi- 
zens in  the  State,  and  he  became  the  leader  of  the  con- 
servatives or  aristocratic  party. 

k.^^^u"  t  '^'^t'ngu'slied  general,  a  genial,  open- 
handed,  big-hearted  sailor,  fond  of  the  good  things  of 

that  when  off  duty,  he  was  inclined  to  indulge  sometimes 
to  excess  in  convivial  pleasures.  As  a  diplomat  and 
pohtician  he  was  no  match  for  Pericles,  who  succeeded 
Themistocles,  as  leader  of  the  democrats  and  at  this 

with  Ephialtes,  the  incorruptible.  While  Cimon  was 
m  Athens  his  influence  in  public  aff-airs  seems  to  have 
prevented  the  leaders  of  the  democracy  from  securing 


COUNCIL    OF    THE    AREOPAGUS 


529 


legislation  in  the  interest  of  the  masses.  But  when 
Cimon  went  to  sea,  prosecuting  his  campaigns  against 
the  Persians,  the  popular  party  in  Athens  led  by  Ephi- 
altes, supported  by  Pericles  and  other  leaders  suc- 
ceeded in  remodelling  the  constitution  of  Solon,  as 
modified  by  Clisthenes,  so  as  to  throw  open  the  office 
of  Archon  to  any  citizen  who  desired  to  become  a  can- 
didate for  that  position.  Formerly,  no  one  could  be 
a  candidate  unless  he  possessed  a  requisite  amount  of 
property  to  the  end  that  none  but  the  wealthy  should 
be  eligible.  It  is  true  that  suffrage  was  universal,  but 
the  power  of  the  common  people  was  nullified,  because 
they  were  not  permitted  to  choose  their  candidates. 
The  office  of  Archon  was  most  important,  and  al- 
though elected  annually,  yet  when  an  Archon  served 
honorably,  he  became,  when  his  term  of  office  expired, 
ex-officio,  a  member  of  the  powerful  and  dignified  coun- 
cil of  the  Areopagus. 

This  body,  composed  of  ex-archons,  was  one  of  the 
oldest  and  most  influential  among  the  Athenians.  It 
continued  long  after  the  Roman  conquest,  and  retained 
its  ancient  jurisdiction  in  all  matters  pertaining  to 
religion  and  morals  during  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era.  When  Paul,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ, 
stood  upon  Mars  Hill  (Hill  of  Ares),  in  the  city  of 
Athens  (A.  D.  53),  they  took  him  before  this  ancient 
court,  the  Areopagus,  and  before  that  tribunal,  he  de- 
livered his  great  address  on  the  worship  of  the  un- 
known God,  and  there  declared  the  sublime  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection! 

The  new  laws,  passed  by  the  party  of  Ephialtes  and 
Pericles  in  Cimon's  absence,  embraced  these  funda- 
mentals ;  first,  the  office  of  the  archon  was  open  to  all 
citizens;  second,  archons  were  elected  by  ballot,  and 
the  right  of  suffrage  was  universal;  third,  the  Are- 
opagus was  stripped  of  practically  all  of  its  powers 

and  duties,  except  the  cases  involving  questions  of  re- 


530 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


CIMON    AT    TANAGRA 


531 


ligion  and  morals,  and  certain  cases  of  homicide.  The 
jurisdiction  and  functions  taken  from  the  Court  or 
Council  of  the  Areopagus  were  conferred  upon  the 
dikasts,  who  were  chosen  from  the  entire  body  of  citi- 
zens and  who  sitting  as  jurors,  decided  aU  questions 
01  law  and  fact  in  the  cases  tried  before  them.  So 
Athens  became  a  pure  democracy. 

When  Cimon  returned  from  his  campaigns,  he  did 
what  he  could  to  bring  back  the  old  order  of  things 
and  restore  the  aristocracy,  as  it  had  flourished  in  the 
time  of  Clisthenes.  His  efforts  were  bitterly  contested 
and  brought  upon  him  and  his  party  most  violent  at- 
tacks of  the  democrats.  Old  slanders  against  him  were 
revived,  among  others,  the  charge  that  he  was  intimate 
with  his  sister  Elpinice,  prior  to  her  marriage  with  the 

u^^I  ^f  'f  *  ^^^  "^^^  ^^^^^^^^^  ^^««  as  being  closely 
allied  to  the  Lacedemonians.  Plutarch  has  a  verse  of 
the  poet  Eupolis  reflecting  on  Cimon  as  follows : 

"  ^e  was  as  good  as  others  that  one  sees. 
But  he  was  fond  of  drinking  and  of  ease: 
And  would  at  nights  to  Sparta  often  roam, 
l^eaving  his  sister  desolate  at  home." 

At  the  time  Cimon  was  tried  for  his  life  and  acquitted 
as  above  narrated,  public  opinion  favored  him  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  Public  Assembly  granted  his  request 
that  an  army  be  sent  to  aid  the  Lacedemonians,  who 
were  fighting  to  suppress  the  revolt  of  the  Helots,  and 
Cunon  was  honored  with  supreme  command. 

The  Athenians,  however,  had  not  been  long  in  Mes- 
senia,  acting  as  allies  of  Sparta,  when  suddenly  the 
Lacedaemonians  concluded  that  it  was  bad  policy  for 
them  to  accept  the  aid  of  their  rivals.  Notwithstand- 
ing their  unbounded  confidence  in  Cimon,  and  the  love 
and  esteem  they  bore  him,  they  notified  the  Athenians 
that  their  services  were  no  longer  required.    When  they 


returned  home  their  countrymen  expressed  freely  their 
indignation  at  this  insult  and  the  humiliation  put  upon 
them  by  Sparta.  Every  Athenian,  among  the  con- 
servatives, who  had  expressed  friendship  and  partiality 
for  Sparta,  felt  the  displeasure  of  the  people,  which 
was  strongly  manifested  in  speech  and  action.  The 
most  conspicuous  object  of  their  displeasure  was  their 
leader,  the  genial  aristocrat,  and  distinguished  Cimon. 
The  democrats  put  all  the  blame  on  him.  His  party 
was  beaten  and  its  leader  was  ostracized  for  a  period 

of  ten  years. 

At  heart,  Cimon  was  loyal  to  Athens,  and,  while  still 
an  exile,  proved  his  loyalty  by  offering  his  services  to 
his  countrymen  to  fight  the  Spartans  at  Tanagra 
(B.  C.  457),  q.  V.  The  latter  unable  to  prevent  Athens 
from  building  her  long  walls  about  the  Piraeus,  deter- 
mined to  organize  an  alliance,  and  to  enlist  Thebes  as 
an  ally  to  check  the  operations  of  Athens  in  Boeotia. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Lacedaemonians,  on  pretext 
of  lending  aid  to  her  Dorian  kinsmen,  who  had  been 
attacked  by  the  Phocians,  sent  an  army  to  their  re- 
lief, and  succored  the  Dorians.  On  its  return,  the  army 
stopped  at  Thebes,  in  Boeotia,  to  strengthen  the  bond  of 
allegiance  between  that  city  and  Sparta.  The  Athe- 
nians sought  to  prevent  the  return  of  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians, and  encamped  at  Tanagra  on  the  borders  of 
Bceotia,  where  an  engagement  took  place  (q.  v.),  which 
resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  Athenians.  Cimon,  who 
under  the  decree  of  ostracism,  was  then  in  retirement  in 
Bceotia,  went  to  the  Athenian  camp,  and  besought  his 
countrymen  to  permit  him  to  fight  for  Athens,  but  his 
request  was  refused.  Then  Cimon,  determined  to 
silence  forever  all  suspicion  as  to  his  loyalty,  organized 
some  volunteers  under  Euthippus,  who  had  also  been 
censured  because  they  were  suspected  of  being  too 
friendly  to  Sparta,  and  advised  them  to  take  part  in 
the  battle,  in  which  he  was  forbidden  to  participate. 


532 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GaEECE 


They    fought    with    such    conspicuous    bravery    that 

doubted.  Shortly  after  Cimon  was  recalled  by  a  decf  c 
which  was  drawn  and  presented  to  the  Assembly  b^ 
Pencles  h.mself,  the  great  democratic  leader,  and  riva^ 
and  the  enemy  of  Cimon. 

reclu'o??;'""''  circumstances,  in  connection  with  the 

view  of  th. T  '       .  *°  uv"  '^''"'^'"^■°»  that  Pericles  in 
view  of  the  force  of  public  opinion  in  Ciraon's  favor 
so  arranged  matters,  that  the  latter  should  be  put  in' 
command  of  a  fleet  sent  out  of  Greece  and  kept  a^broad 

wb;l    r    T^^  *",^"''"^  *^^  e^°^y  °f  Athens;    and 
sll^.  w  °       ^t  "•''^r'  •"""^"'^^  *»«=  Athenians  in 

ambition   of  ,ts   first  citizen.      The  political   rival   of 
Pericles  at  that  time  was  Thucydides."^  We  have'o  au- 

friendship  for  the  Lacedaemonians,  Pericles  induced 
him  to  use  his  influence  to  secure  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
aparta  which  service  he  accomplished  B.  C.  452,  and 
negotiated  what  is  known  as  the  Five  Years'  Truce 
was  a^^r^  r  ^^^^'^'''Td  tW«  treaty  that  Cimon 
Tf  a  fll!r    f  ."      u^  ^^'T"^-     "^  ""«  P»t  i"  '^""I'nand 

DroceS  f  r  '"'"^'■!''  ^*"^y^'  '^'t'*  instructions  to 
proceed  to  Cyprus  and  from  that  point  conduct  opera- 
tions not  only  to  reduce  that  important  island,  but  also 
to  assist  the  Egyptians  who  had  revolted  against  the 
nile  of  Artaxerxes,  under  the  leadership  of  Inaros! 

t^Zdl  ^'^^T- .  ^^*"  ^''  ^"''^^  the  rebels  con- 
tinued the  war  under  Anyratens,  in  the  fens  of  the  Nile. 

Cimon   dispatched   a   squadron   of   sixty    ships   which 

h.I^A  r*  '"'  ^"1  campaign.  About  the  time  he  em- 
barked  he   was   admonished   by   the   soothsayers   and 


cimon's  deeam 


533 


diviners,  that  dire  portents  had  manifested  themselves, 
which  these  worthies  advised  presaged  his  death. 

These  warnings,  we  are  told,  were  revealed  to  Cimon 
in  a  dream,  in  which  he  heard  the  furious  barking  of 
dogs  mingled  with  human  voices,  which  echoed  the  re- 
frain which  Plutarch  quotes : 

Come  on,  for  thou  shalt  shortly  be 
A  pleasure  to  my  whelps  and  me. 

We  are  told  that  Astyphilus,  a  friend  of  Cimon, 
skilled  in  divination,  interpreted  the  dream  as  a  pre- 
monition of  the  death  of  the  great  admiral.  His  read- 
ing of  the  vision  was  to  the  effect  that  a  dog  is  the 
enemy  of  him  he  barks  at,  and  always  rejoices  when  his 
enemy  is  dead.  The  human  voices  mingled  with  the 
barking  signified  the  Medes,  for  in  their  armies  were 
found  both  Greeks  and  barbarians. 

But  Cimon  loved  his  country.  He  loved  adventure 
and  excitement,  and  notwithstanding  the  doleful  pre- 
dictions of  soothsayers  and  diviners,  set  out  on  his  last 
expedition  to  win  fresh  glory  for  Athens,  and  humiliate 
and  defeat  his  enemies.  His  aim  was  the  ruin  of  the 
Persian  Empire.  Doubtless,  had  he  lived,  he  might 
have  carried  his  arms  into  Asia,  and  anticipated  Alex- 
ander in  the  conquest  of  the  East.  He  deputed  sixty 
triremes  to  sail  to  Egypt,  and  with  the  remainder  of  his 
fleet  sought  to  dislodge  the  Persians  and  their  allies, 
the  Sicilians  and  Phoenicians,  from  the  island  of  Cyprus. 

It  was  off  the  harbor  of  New  Salamis,  on  the  south- 
ern coast  of  the  island  that  Cimon  fought  his  last  bat- 
tle. The  City  of  Citium  was  the  scene  of  his  last  siege. 
Seventeen  years  had  passed  since  the  Athenian  admiral, 
at  the  mouth  of  Eurymedon,  on  the  coast  of  Pamphylia, 
won  his  greatest  victory,  the  results  of  which  eman- 
cipated Europe  and  Asia  Minor  from  the  dominion  of 
Persia.     The  fates  had  decreed  that  he  should  end  his 


534 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


labors  on  the  coast  of  Cyprus  less  than  two  hundred 
miles  southeast  of  the  scene  of  his  greatest  victory. 
His  forces  had  been  suffering  from  famine,  and  for 
this  reason  alone,  they  were  obliged  to  retire  from 
Citium.  Cimon,  who  had  been  ill  and  confined  to  his 
bed,  died,  before  the  Phoenician  fleet,  then  on  its  way 
to  relieve  the  beleaguered  city  had  arrived.  When  his 
end  was  approaching  he  gave  orders  that  his  officers 
should  conceal  the  news  of  his  death. 


«  v 


Now  twilight  lets  her  curtain  down. 
And  pins  it  with  a  star.' 


»» 


"  There  is  darkness  on  the  mountain. 
There  is  darkness  on  the  main, 
And  the  stars  between  the  breaking  clouds 

Are  hanging  like  a  chain, 
A  chain  of  golden  glittering  gems 
Let  down  into  the  sea." 

In  the  solemn  hush  of  a  summer's  evening  the  soul  of 
the  great  admiral  passed.  His  race  was  run ;  his  career 
was  finished.  But  the  spirit  of  the  great  commander 
still  lived.  In  the  engagement  which  followed,  shortly 
after  his  death,  although  the  voice  of  Cimon  was  stilled 
forever,  the  glorious  memories  of  his  achievements  in- 
spired his  countrymen.  When  the  enemy's  fleet  arrived 
they  were  attacked  and  overwhelmingly  defeated.  The 
Athenians  then  disembarked,  and  vanquished  the  land 
forces,  who  opposed  them,  and  thus  accomplished  a  feat 
at  Cyprus,  similar  to  that  which,  at  the  Eurymedon, 
rendered  imperishable  the  fame  of  Cimon. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI 

THE  THIRTY  YEARS*  PEACE,  KNOWN  AS  THE  PEACE 
OF  PERICLES  —  CONTEMPORANEOUS  EVENTS 

lERICLES,  B.  C.  445,  negotiated  a  treaty  of 
peace  between  Athens  and  Sparta  and  her 
allies.  The  events  which  followed  the  defeat 
of  the  Athenians  at  Coronea  (B.  C.  447), 
referred  to  in  a  preceding  chapter,  made 
it  imperative  for  Athens  to  seek  peace  with  the  Lace- 
daemonians. Had  Pericles  failed  to  negotiate  the 
Thirty  Years'  Peace  with  Sparta,  the  battle  of  Cor- 
onea (B.C.  447),  and  not  the  surprise  at  Plataea 
(B.  C.  431),  would  have  marked  the  beginning  of  the 
Peloponnesian  War. 

As  to  the  details  of  this  important  treaty  we  know 
very  little.  Thucydides  is  our  informant.  He  refers 
to  the  incident  briefly  ^  as  follows :  "  Pericles,  having 
returned  from  Euboea,  not  long  after  [he  had  subdued 
the  revolt  in  that  island]  made  a  truce  with  the  Lace- 
daemonians and  their  allies  for  thirty  years,  giving  back 
Nisasa,  Pegae,  Trozen  and  Achaia,  places  in  the  Pelo- 
ponnese,  of  which  the  Athenians  were  in  possession."  It 
appears  also  in  another  connection  (Thuc.  i,  78),  that 
the  treaty  contained  a  provision  that  all  disputes  or 
diff'erences  which  might  arise  between  the  contracting 
parties  should  be  settled  by  arbitration;  and  that 
neither    should    assume    to    entertain    the    complaints 


»Thucyd.  i,  115. 


535 


536 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


brought  by  the  allies  of  the  other;  but  that  all  such 
controversies  should  be  adjusted  by  the  heads  of  the 
respective  alliances. 

We  know  the  principal  features  of  the  treaty  from 
this   record   of  Thucydides,   namely,   that  Athens  was 
required  to  abandon  all  the  acquisitions  which  she  had 
secured    in    the    Peloponnesus    and    agreed   to    permit 
Megara,    which    was    in    control    of    the    Isthmus    of 
Corinth,  the  gateway  to  Attica,  to  remain  as  a  member 
of  the   Spartan   alliance.      Pericles   deemed   these   sac- 
rifices, great  as  they  were,  necessary  in  order  to  avert 
war,  and  to  enable  her  to  retain  intact  her  maritime 
empire.      His   experience   and  prudent   foresight  made 
him  sensible  of  the  fact  that  war  with  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians was  inevitable.     He  seems  to  have  anticipated  it 
for  years.     Plutarch  tells  us  that  among  the  few  re- 
corded sayings  of  this  great  statesman  was  that  "  he 
saw  already  war  moving  on  its  way  towards  them  out 
of  the  Peloponnesus." 

He  doubtless  concluded,  when  he  lent  his  influence  to 
secure  the  Thirty  Years'  Peace,  that  Athens  must  elect 
either  to  engage  in  a  destructive  war,  the  results  of 
which  were  altogether  uncertain,  in  order  to  build  up 
again  her  land  empire,  or  to  abandon  it  entirely,  in 
order  that  the  integrity  of  her  maritime  power  might 
continue.  A  most  important  feature  of  the  treaty  was, 
that  for  war,  arbitration  should  be  substituted.  Had 
this  provision  been  lived  up  to,  the  treaty  might  have 
lasted  the  entire  period  of  its  limitation.  To  appreciate 
the  importance  of  this  compact,  it  will  be  profitable  to 
review  briefly  the  events  which  led  up  to  it,  some  of 
which  are  set  forth  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Athens  had  been  able  to  build  up  her  land  empire, 
chiefly  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  at  that  particular 
time,  the  Lacedaemonians  were  in  no  condition  to  under- 
take a  war  against  her,  having  suff'ered  from  the  earth- 
quake (B.  C.  464),  which  destroyed  their  city  in  the 


ACTIVITY    OF    THE    ATHENIANS 


537 


valley  of  the  Eurotas.     In  addition  to  that  calamity 
they  were  obliged  to  prosecute  the  Third  Messenian 
War,  waged  against  their  authority  by  the  revolting 
Helots,  a  contest  which  occupied  a  period  of  nearly  ten 
years    (464-455).      Their  resources,  on   this   account, 
were  exhausted  to  such  an  extent  that  they  remained 
inactive   for   three  years   after  that   event,   and  then, 
B.   C.  552,  they  concluded  a  Five  Years'  Truce  with 
Athens.     Thus,  while  the  Lacedaemonians  were  not  in  a 
position    to    interfere   with   the    ambitious    designs    of 
Pericles,  Athens,  under  the  leadership  of  that  remark- 
able man,  accomplished  her  ambitious  designs  to  secure 
supremacy  in  northern  and  central  Greece,  as  she  had 
already,    through    the    instrumentality    of   the   Delian 
Confederacy,   acquired   supremacy   on   the   seas.      The 
events  by  which  Athens  built  up  her  land  empire  are 
sketched  in  a  preceding  chapter.     After  the  victory 
at  (Enophyta,  the  Athenians  finished  their  long  walls, 
connecting  the  capital  of  Attica  with  the  Piraeus.     A 
powerful  fleet  was  assigned  to  Tolmides   (B.  C.  456), 
who  circumnavigated  the  Peloponnese,  burned  the  ar- 
senals of  the  Lacedaemonians   (the  Five  Years'  Truce 
not  then  having  been  made),  took  Chalcis,  a  city  of  the 
Corinthians  in  ^tolia,  and  defeated  the  Sicyonians  in 
a  battle  during  a  descent  on  their  lands  in  Argolis, 
near  the  southern  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  and 
secured  control  of  Achaia.     The  island  of  ^Egina  was 
reduced  to  slavery,  which  gave  the  Athenians  control 
of  the  Saronic  Gulf.     In  the  following  year,  Pericles 
repeated  the  plundering  expedition  which  had  been  pre- 
viously made  by  Tolmides.     He  sailed  with  one  hundred 
galleys  from  the  harbor  of  The  Fountains,  known  also 
as  Pegae,  in  Megara   (B.  C.  455)  along  the  southern 
shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  and  descended  on  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  Sicyonians,  and  further  reduced  Achaia. 
He  then  ravaged  the  coasts  of  Acarnania.     In  order  to 
secure  a  brief  period  of  further  repose,  after  the  long 


538 


MILITARY    AN>JALS    OF    GREECE 


and  tedious  Messenian  War,  the  Lacedsemonians, 
through  the  mfluence  of  Cimon,  who  contemplated  a 
campaign  against  Cyprus,  were  persuaded  to  negotiate 
the  Five  Years'  Truce,  B.  C.  452-450.  This  treaty 
enabled  the  Athenians  to  fit  out  a  formidable  fleet  of 
two  hundred  sail,  which  was  sent  to  Cyprus  under 
Cimon,  and  from  that  strategic  base  were  enabled  to 
undertake  the  invasion  of  Egypt,  as  allies  of  the  Libyan 
King,  Inaros,  to  further  weaken  the  power  of  Persia. 
The  absence  of  Cimon,  on  this  expedition,  left  Pericles 
supreme  in  Athens.  He  died  the  following  year,  B.  C. 
449,  while  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Citium.  The  Athe- 
nians had  also  made  alliances  which  gave  them  suprem- 
acy in  Boeotia,  on  the  Isthmus,  and  in  Achaia.  Thus 
the  alliances  of  Athens  included  the  countries  along  the 
northern  and  southern  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Corinth, 
and  her  land  empire  was  established. 

At  Coronea,  B.  C.  447,  the  success  of  Athens  was 
reversed.  The  immediate  results  of  that  engagement 
was  the  loss  of  Boeotia.  The  Five  Years'  Truce  was 
about  to  expire,  and  the  Lacedasmonians  would  tlien  be 
free,  and  in  a  position  to  concentrate  all  the  enemies 
of  Attica  in  northern  and  central  Greece,  into  an  alli- 
ance, including  the  Megarians,  whose  territory  em- 
braced the  Isthmus. 

When  the  Boeotians  gained  their  independence,  they 
instigated  the  Euboeans  to  revolt,  and  throw  off  their 
allegiance  to  Athens.  Colonies  of  Athenian  kleruchs 
had  been  established  on  that  island,  to  whom  had  been 
given  the  lands  of  the  Euboeans,  and  the  latter  were 
ready  to  join  the  revolution  to  regain  control  of  their 
estates,  and  establish  their  independence.  The  impor- 
tance of  Eubcea  to  Attica  is  obvious.  The  hostile  state 
of  Argolis  lay  directly  to  the  west,  separated  from  At- 
tica by  the  Saronic  Gulf.  The  island  of  Eubcea  lay 
directly  east,  separated  from  her  only  by  the  straits  of 
Euboea.    The  narrow  island  extends  north,  immediately 


CAMPAIGN    IN    EUBGEA 


539 


east  of  Boeotia.  At  the  Euripus,  the  coasts  of  Boeotia 
and  Euboea  almost  touch,  the  channel  at  that  point  be- 
ing less  than  a  mile  wide.  Her  four  principal  cities 
were  Histiae  on  the  extreme  north,  not  far  from  the 
headland  of  Artemisia ;  Carystus  on  the  extreme  south ; 
Eretria  about  midway  the  island,  on  the  western  shore, 
and   Chalcis    on    the   Euripus,   a   few   miles   north   of 

Eretria. 

Pericles  saw  that  the  revolt  in  Euboea  must  be  sub- 
dued at  the  earliest  moment.     He  mustered  a  strong 
force  and  began  a  campaign  against  the  rebels.     He 
was  not  permitted  to  prosecute  the  war.     Scarcely  had 
he  begun  operations  when  he  received  news  of  the  most 
alarming  import.     Corinth,  Sicyon  and  Epidaurus  had 
formed  an  alliance  and  persuaded  the  Megarians  to 
join  them,  to  enable  her  to  throw  off  her  allegiance  to 
Athens.     The  troops  of  the  allied  forces  had  been  ad- 
mitted to  the  City  of  Megara.     The  Athenian  garrison 
was  massacred,  except  a  small  remnant  who  made  their 
escape  to  Nisaea.     Thus  while  Pericles  was  absent  in 
Eubcea,  the  Peloponnesians  had  secured  control  of  the 
Isthmus   and  the   mountain  passes   of   Geraneia.     By 
reason  of  the  efforts  of  the  united  exiles,  who  had  tri- 
umphed in  Boeotia,  the  revolt  spread  into  Phocis  and 
Locris.     All  Central  Greece  was  in  revolt.    What  made 
matters  still  more  serious  for  Athens  was  the  fact  that 
the   Five   Years'   Truce,   which   had   protected  Athens 
from  the  direct  attacks  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  had  now 
expired.     The  mountain  passes  across  the  Isthmus  were 
in  control  of  her  allies,  so  that  a  Peloponnesian  army 
could  march  unmolested  from  the  southern  peninsula, 
directly  into  Attica.     The  time  had  come  for  the  Lace- 
daemonians to  strike  her  rival  a  decisive  blow.    Pleistoa- 
nax,   son   of  Pausanias,   the   King  of   Sparta   at  this 
time,  was  a  mere  youth.     The  Ephors,  therefore,  as  a 
matter  of  extra  precaution,  attached  to  his  person, 
Cleandrides,  to  aid  him  by  his  superior  wisdom  and 


fl 


tl 


540 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


prudent  counsel.  This  Cleandrides  was  the  father  of 
Gjhppus,  who  afterwards  overpowered  the  Athenians 
at  Syracuse.  An  army  of  Lacedaemonians,  with  their 
Peloponnesian  allies,  was  dispatched  under  Pleistoanax 
to  mvade  Attica. 

It  was  a  dark  hour  for  Athens.  She  was  threatened 
with  mvasion  by  the  united  forces  of  the  southern  pen- 
msula,  and  Pericles,  the  ablest  man  in  Greece,  absent  in 
l^uboea  with  an  Athenian  army,  sent  there  to  queU  a 
revolt  which  had  spread  throughout  that  island. 

The  Public  Assembly  acted  promptly.  Pericles  was 
recalled,  and  proceeded  at  once  at  the  head  of  his  forces 
to  meet  the  army  of  invasion  which  was  then  encamped 
on  the  plain  of  Eleusis  almost  within  sight  of  Athens. 
Pericles  determined,  under  no  circumstances,  to  hazard 
a  battle  on  Attic  soil,  if  he  could  avoid  doing  so.  What 
if  his  arms  were  defeated.  It  meant  the  irretrievable 
rum  of  his  country.  In  this  critical  situation,  Pericles 
relied,  not  on  the  strength  of  his  arms,  but  on  the  weak- 
ness of  human  nature.  He  argued  that  bribes  might 
be  used  to  accomplish  that  which  he  might  not  be  able 
to  accomplish  in  any  other  way. 

Avarice  was  one  of  the  besetting  sins  of  the  Hellenic 
race.  It  had  ruined  Themistocles.  It  had  ruined  Pau- 
sanias,  the  father  of  Pleistoanax.  It  was  destined,  also, 
to  ruin  Gylippus,  the  son  of  Cleandrides,  and  as  the 
sequel  shows  it  ruined  Cleandrides  himself  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  campaign  in  Attica,  with  his  King,  on  the 
present  occasion. 

Indeed,  Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Pericles,  observes  in 
this  connection,  as  to  the  corruption  of  Cleandrides, 
that  this  covetousness  was  an  hereditary  disease,  trans- 
mitted from  father  to  son.  Eurybiades  took  a  bribe 
from  Themistocles,  in  order  to  induce  him  to  remain  at 
Artemisium,  when  Leonidas,  his  King,  was  in  peril  at 
Thermopylae.  Even  the  Pythian  priestess  in  the  temple 
at  Delphi  could  not  resist  the  blandishments  of  those 


PEEICLES     RESOETS     TO     BEIBERY 


541 


who  desired  oracles,  published  from  her  sacred  tripod, 
suited  to  accomplish  their  personal  or  political  ends. 
These  prophecies  were  in  fact  procured  to  enable  Pleis- 
toanax  to   obtain   pardon    for   the    crime   of   bribery, 
charged  on  this  occasion.     Athens  was  rich.     In  the 
temple  of  Athene,  on  the  Acropolis,  were  the   chests 
filled  with  the  golden  tribute  paid  into  its  treasury  by 
the  constituent  members  of  the  Confederacy  of  Delos. 
Pericles  had  gold  at  his  command.    Gold,  he  concluded, 
afforded  a  solution  of  the  difficult  problem  with  which 
he    was    confronted.      Pleistoanax    was    very    young. 
Cleandrides   was   susceptible.      Negotiations   were   had 
with  the  enemy,  and  as  a  result  of  these  conferences, 
the  Peloponnesian  army  took  its  departure  from  At- 
tica, and  returned  to  the  valley  of  the  Eurotas.     The 
inference  was  irresistible,  that  the  Spartan  King  and 
his  prudent  adviser  were  bribed  by  the  diplomatic  Athe- 
nian statesman. 

Mr.  Grote  hesitates  to  give  entire  credence  to  the  as- 
sumption that  the  peaceful  return  of  tho.  Peloponne- 
sians  to  their  country  after  they  had  entered  the  plains 
of  Attica,  without  striking  a  blow,  was  the  result  of 
the  corruption  of  the  Spartan  King  and  his  associate. 
He  argues  that  we  may  well  doubt  whether  the  Pelo- 
ponnesian forces  were  strong  enough  to  undertake  the 
risk  of  attacking  Athens,  now  completely  walled  and 
protected  from  the  Acropolis  to  the  sea.  He  refers  to 
the  deliberation  and  caution,  observed  by  Archidamus, 
during  the  first  year  of  the  Peloponnesian  War,  at  the 
head  of  a  more  commanding  force.  It  may  be  observed, 
also,  in  addition  to  what  Mr.  Grote  has  said,  that 
Pericles  was  on  that  occasion  attended  by  a  strong 
force,  probably  eight,  perhaps  ten  thousand  hoplites. 
He  returned  afterwards  to  Euboea  with  an  army  of 
eight  thousand  heavy  armed.  If  this  force  was  aug- 
mented on  his  return  from  that  island  by  auxiliaries 
from  Athens  when  he  marched  thence  to   Eleusis  to 


542 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


meet  the  iHimding  forces  of  the  enemy,  we  are  justi- 
fied  m  assuming  that  these  auxiliaries  numbered  at 
least  two  thousand.  We  have  no  record  as  to  the  num- 
ber of  troops  in  the  army  of  Pleistoanax,  so  that  we 
cannot  judge  as  to  the  numerical  strength  of  the  re- 
spective forces.  It  is  not  possible,  therefore,  to  meas- 
ure the  risk  Pericles  must  have  assumed,  had  he  de- 
termined to  engage  the  invaders  on  the  plain  of 
Eleusis. 

However,  this  may  be,  it  seems  certain  that  the  Spar- 
tans beheved  that  their  King,  and  his  associate  had  been 
bnbed.  On  that  charge  they  were  tried,  on  their  return 
to  Sparta,  and  convicted.  Both  were  banished.  It  is 
a  smgular  coincidence  that  Pleistoanax,  who  was  long 
a  penitent  in  the  sacred  precincts  near  the  temple  of 
Athene  in  Tegea,  in  Arcadia,  procured  his  restoration 
by  bribing  the  Pythoness,  and  through  her  influence, 
somehow,  the  Spartan  King  was  permitted  to  return 
to  his  dommions.  Cleandrides  died  in  exile,  sentence 
of  death  having  been  passed  upon  him  during  his  ab- 
sence. 

This  charge  of  bribery  seems  to  be  further  corrobo- 
rated by  the  fact  that  when  Pericles  rendered  an  ac- 
count of  his  expenditures,  shortly  afterwards,  he  stated 
a  disbursement  of  ten  talents,  as  laid  out  upon  fit  occa- 
sion. The  item  was  not  investigated,  but  the  assembly 
allowed  it  without  question.  Indeed,  some  affirm  that 
every  year  Pericles  sent  privately  to  Sparta  the  sum 
of  ten  talents,  with  which  he  compensated  those  in  office 
to  keep  off  the  war,  not  to  purchase  peace,  but  to 
gam  time  in  which  to  be  better  able  to  prepare  for  hos- 
tilities. This  then  seemed  to  be  the  primary  object  of 
the  Thirty  Years'  Peace,  namely,  to  gain  time  to  pre- 
pare for  war. 

After  the  last  file  of  hoplites  in  the  army  of  Pleistoa- 
nax had  disappeared  beyond  the  borders  of  Attica, 
Pericles  lost  no  time  in  returning  to  Euboea  to  complete 


CONQUEST     OF     EUB(EA 


543 


the  task  of  suppressing  the  revolt  in  that  island,  an 
undertaking  which  had  been  suddenly  interrupted  by  the 
appearance  of  a  Peloponnesian  army  within  the  borders 
of  Attica.  He  left  Athens  with  an  army  of  eight  thou- 
sand heavy  armed,  and  was  accompanied  also  by  a  fleet 
of  fifty  ships.  He  reduced  the  city  of  Chalcis  on  the 
Euripus,  and  drove  out  all  the  wealthy  inhabitants  who 
favored  an  oligarchy,  and  the  city  became  a  tribute  ally 
of  Athens.  He  then  proceeded  to  the  extreme  north  of 
the  island,  and  attacked  the  ancient  city  of  Histiaea. 
It  was  situated  near  the  sea,  and  its  inhabitants  had 
attacked  an  Athenian  vessel,  which  they  plundered,  and 
then  massacred  the  crew.  For  this  offense,  Pericles  de- 
populated the  city,  changed  its  name  to  Oreus,  and 
turned  it  over  to  a  colony  of  Athenian  kleruchs.  In  a 
short  time  he  had  reduced  the  whole  island,  secured  its 
allegiance,  and  settled  it  by  agreement.  The  suppres- 
sion of  this  revolt,  in  the  territory  adjoining  the  chan- 
nel on  the  east  of  Attica  was  absolutely  essential  to  the 
peace  and  safety  of  Athens. 

The  task  had  been  accomplished  in  Euboea.  But  the 
reconquest  of  that  island  could  not  secure  to  Athens 
enduring  peace.  Pericles  knew  that  the  respite  he  had 
secured  when  he  induced  Pleistoanax  to  retire  with  his 
army  from  Attica  was  but  temporary.  The  war  cloud 
hung  heavy  over  the  Peloponnese.  It  was  only  a  mat- 
ter of  time  when  it  would  advance  over  Attica,  and  all 
Hellas  would  be  involved  in  a  destructive  war.  The 
shame  and  mortification  occasioned  by  the  ignominious 
conduct  of  Sparta's  King,  who  after  invading  Attica  at 
the  head  of  an  army  of  Spartans  and  Spartan  allies, 
returned  to  the  valley  of  the  Eurotas  without  striking 
a  blow,  kindled  the  wrath  of  his  countrymen.  Even  the 
dread  of  the  Athenian  navy,  which  had  plundered  the 
seas,  and  ravaged  the  coasts  of  the  Peloponnese,  could 
not  deter  nor  long  delay  the  cherished  ambition  of 
Sparta  to   destroy   Athens.      Although  the   Athenians 


544 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


had  lost  their  allies  in  Boeotia,  in  Phocis,  in  Locris,  and 
m   Megara,   they   still   retained  Achaia,   and   Trozen, 
Nis»a  and  Peg».     Pericles  knew  that  Athens  could  not 
hold  these  states ;    that  she  was  not  in  position  to  de- 
fend them  permanently,  and  that  she  must  temporarily 
at  least  abandon  the  Peloponnese.    Then  why  not  make 
a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  trade  these  places  to  pur- 
chase peace,  and  the  repose  which  Athens  sorely  needed? 
Her  fleets  and  armies  had  been  actively  engaged  in  mili- 
tary operations  for  more  than  a  generation.     Since  the 
battle  of  Salamis,  Athens  had  warred  against  Persia, 
driven  her  from  Europe,  expelled  her  from  the  sea  and 
compelled  her  to  retire  from  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor, 
and  confined  her  activities  to  the  limitations  of  her  an- 
cient dominions.     Not  content  with  this  she  sent  fleets 
and  armies  to  Egypt  to  aid  the  revolution  of  Inaros, 
the  Libyan  monarch,  to  destroy  her  power  in  the  land 
of  the  Nile.    She  had  waged  domestic  war  also  and  built 
up  a  land  empire,  which  she  was  obliged  to  relinquish 
after  her  defeat  at  Coronea. 

Pericles  was  moved  by  these  considerations  to  secure 
for  his  countrymen  a  long  respite.  Peace  under  the 
circumstances  became  at  this  critical  juncture  more 
acceptable  than  war,  and  the  great  warrior  statesman 
of  Attica,  who  commanded  her  fleets  and  armies,  now 
bent  aU  his  energies  to  purchase  peace,  while  Athens 
had  yet  something  to  give  to  placate  the  jealousy  and 
envy  of  the  Peloponnesians.  Trozen,  Nis«a,  Peg®  and 
Achaia  — the  surrender  of  these  places  indicated  her 
willingness  to  abandon  the  southern  peninsula  of  Hel- 
las, the  Isthmus  and  the  control  of  the  Gulf  of  Corinth. 
But  Pericles  was  willing  to  make  the  great  sacrifice  in 
order  that  Athens  might  retain  the  integrity  of  her 
maritime  empire,  and  enter  upon  a  period  of  repose,  an 
era  which  was  destined  to  make  Athens  the  centre  of 
art,  literature,  and  philosophy  in  the  ancient  world, 
and  render  her  fame  immortal. 


THlETY   YEAES'   TEUCE 


545 


He  concluded,  therefore,  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
Sparta,  by  which  the  contracting  parties  bound  them- 
selves to  refrain  from  hostilities  and  cease  war  for  a 
period  of  thirty  years. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII 

ATHENS    AT   PEACE 

HE  causes  which  led  to  the  Peace  of  Pericles, 
referred  to  in  the  previous  chapter,  may  be 
summarized  as  follows: 

For  more  than  a  generation  prior  to  the 
Thirty  Years'  Peace    (B.   C.   445),  Athens 
had  been  engaged  in  war.     Since  the  battle  of  Salamis 
and  the  destruction  of  the  city  by  Xerxes  (B.  C.  480), 
her  fleets   and   armies   had   been   constantly   employed 
against  Persia.      In   the   JEgean   and   in   Asia   Minor 
Cimon    had   destroyed    the    dominion    of    Darius    and 
Xerxes,  and  in  its  stead  had  planted  the  Athenian  Em- 
pire.    The  death  of  that  great  admiral   (B.  C.  449) 
opened  the  way  for  peace  with  Persia.     The  defeat  of 
the  Athenians  at  Coronea,  made  it  imperative  that  they 
should  seek  peace  with  the  Lacedaemonians.     The  alli- 
ances which  Pericles  had  negotiated  in  northern  and 
central  Greece,  after  the  battle  of  (Enophyta,  had  been 
dissolved.     Euboea  had  revolted.     A  Spartan  King  at 
the  head  of  an  invading  army  had  entered  the  borders 
of  Attica.     Bribery  had  been  resorted  to,  to  prevent 
a  war  with  the  Peloponnesians.     Pericles  then  wisely 
concluded  that  Athens,  at  this  time,  was  not  prepared 
*o  engage  with  Sparta,  in  a  struggle  for  her  existence. 
The  best  interests  of  Athens  required  peace.     To  pre- 
serve the  integrity  of  her  maritime  empire,  peace  was 
absolutely     essential.       The     diplomacy     of     Pericles 
brought  about  the  desired  result,  and  the  Thirty  Years' 

546 


SOUECE    OF    WEALTH 


547 


Peace  was  concluded  B.  C.  445.     An  account  of  this 
treaty  and  the  causes  which  led  to  it  are  sketched  m 

the  last  chapter.  ,     ,    j        i      j 

As  a  result  Athens  secured  repose.     She  had  no  land 
empire,  but  was  the  head  of  the  greatest  maritime  em- 
pire in  the  world.     She  was  also  the  richest  city.     Her 
revenues,  with  the  exception  only  of  the  Persian  empire, 
exceeded   the    revenues    of    any    other   country.      The 
source  of  her  wealth  was  the  annual  assessment  paid 
into  her  treasury  by  her  tribute  allies.     The  number  of 
these  tributary  cities  is  said  to  have  been  not  less  than 
one  thousand.     Some  years  before  the  Thirty  Years 
Peace,  presumably  about  B.  C.  460,  the  treasury  of 
the  Delian  league  which  was  originally  m  the  temple  ot 
Apollo  on  the  island  of  Delos,  was  removed  to  the  tem- 
ple of  Athene,  on  the  Acropolis  at  Athens.    Mr.  Grote 
says  that  it  is  impossible  to  state  the  precise  time  when 
the  character  of  this  great  Confederacy  was  changed 
from  a  body  of  armed  and  active  warriors,  under  the 
guidance  of  Athens,  into  disarmed  and  passive  tribute 
payers,  defended  by  the  military  force  of  Athens  — 
from  allies  free,  meeting  at  Delos,  and  self  determinmg, 
into  subjects  isolated,  sending  their  annual  tribute  and 
awaiting  Athenian  orders.     At  the  time  of  the  Peace 
of  Pericles,  B.  C.  445,  it  was  no  longer  an  independent 
Confederacy    of    independent    allies,    or    independent 
states,  represented  in  a  general  Congress,  or  Synod, 
which  met  annually  in  the  temple  at  Delos,  but  formed 
part  of  an  imperial  empire,  under  the  jurisdiction  ot 
Athens.    With  tlie  exception  of  C^hios,  Samos  and  Les- 
bos, every  member  of  the  Confederacy  was  obliged  to 
pay  into  the  treasury  at  Athens  its  annual  tribute,  the 
amount  of  which  was  levied  by  the  Athenians      The 
three  islands  above  referred  to  were  still  permitted  to 
remain   independent  allies   of  Athens.     Each  was   al- 
lowed to  retain  its  armed  force,  ships,  and  fortifications, 
the  sole  obligation  being  to  furnish  military  and  naval 


i 


548 


MIUTAttY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


aid  when  required,  but  they  were  under  no  obligation 
to  pay  tribute. 

The  amount  of  revenue  derived  from  the  subject 
allies  in  the  Delian  Confederacy,  in  the  time  of  Pericles, 
was  not  less  than  six  hundred  talents  annually,  equal 
to  considerably  more  than  half  a  million  dollars.  The 
annual  assessment  in  the  time  of  Aristides,  when  war 
was  actively  carried  on  against  Persia,  was  four  hun- 
dred and  sixty  talents.  Yet  after  peace  had  been  con- 
cluded with  Persia,  the  annual  tribute  had  increased 
to  six  hundred  talents.  From  the  tribute  cities  of 
Athens,  in  her  outlying  colonies  in  Italy,  Magna 
Graecia,  in  Thrace,  and  elsewhere,  her  annual  income 
aggregated  at  least  four  hundred  talents,  nearly  half 
a  million  dollars.  So  that  the  Athenians  received  into 
their  treasury  every  year  an  income  of  at  least  one 
million  talents,  equal  to  more  than  one  million  dollars, 
which,  in  that  age,  was  regarded  as  a  princely  revenue. 

Athens  now  became  not  only  a  great  commercial  city, 
a  centre  of  wealth  and  influence,  carrying  on  extensive 
mercantile  relations  with  every  country,  but  also  the 
centre  of  philosophy,  literature  and  art.  War  had 
ceased  with  Persia,  but  the  great  war  fund  originally 
contributed  by  the  allies  of  Athens  to  fight  Persia,  was 
still  exacted,  but  instead  of  being  used  to  carry  on  war, 
it  was  used  to  adorn  and  beautify  Athens,  which  became 
noted  as  the  most  beautiful  of  cities ;  the  remains  of 
whose  ancient  glory  and  faded  splendor  still  attracts 
the  wonder  and  admiration  of  mankind.  This  era  in 
the  history  of  Athens  from  the  Thirty  Years'  Peace, 
B.  C.  445,  to  the  commencement  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  B.  C.  431,  is  known  in  history  as  the  Golden  Age 
of  Pericles. 

The  period  of  repose,  which  gave  Athens  the  oppor- 
tunity to  establish  enduring  fame  in  philosophy,  in  lit- 
erature and  art,  was  interrupted  by  two  wars.  The 
first  arose  on  account  of  a  quarrel  between  the  island 


PELOPONNESIAN    WAE 


549 


of  Samos  and  the  city  of  Miletus,  both  allies  of  Athens, 
over  the  government  of  Priene,  a  city  in  Ionia,  known 
as  the  Samian  War,  and  an  armed  conflict  between 
Corinth  and  Corcyra,  with  regard  to  their  allies  in 
Epidamnus  (called  Dyrrhachium  by  the  Romans)  in 
Illyria,  on  the  coast  of  the  Adriatic,  and  Potidea,  in 
the  Chalcidian  peninsula  in  Thrace.  In  this  latter 
war,  Corcyra  was  accepted  by  Athens  as  her  ally,  and 
the  aid  which  the  Athenians  gave  her  at  the  battle  of 
Sybota,  B.  C.  432,  enabled  her  to  defeat  the  Corinthian 
fleet.  On  this  account  Corinth  and  Megara,  the  ships 
of  the  latter  having  been  forbidden  to  trade  in  Athe- 
nian ports,  made  common  cause,  and  finally  being  allies 
of  Sparta,  induced  the  latter  to  adjudge,  that  Athens 
had  broken  the  treaty  —  the  Thirty  Years'  Peace. 
The  result  was  the  Peloponnesian  War,  which  resulted 
in  the  ruin  of  Athens,  and  the  destruction  of  her  em- 
pire. 


I 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII 


THE    SAMIAN   WAR 


SAMOS  -  Sa-mos  — [Sa/iot].  An  island  in  the  Mgean 
Sea,  off  the  promontory  of  Mount  Mycale  in  Ionia.  It  is  situated 
about  twenty-five  miles  northwest  of  Miletus  and  forty-five  miles 
southwest  of  Smyrna.  The  island  is  twenty-eight  miles  long.  Its 
greatest  breadth  is  twelve  miles. 

N  B.  C.  440,  the  fifth  year  of  the  Thirty 
Years'  Peace,  the  island  of  Sainos  revolted 
from  the  authority  of  Athens.  Pericles,  with 
whom  was  associated  the  poet  Sophocles,  in 
command  of  an  Athenian  fleet,  besieged  and 
blockaded  Samos,  and  after  a  war  which  continued  for 
a  period  of  nine  months  reduced  the  island  to  subjec- 
tion. These  military  operations  are  known  as  the 
Samian  War,  and  their  successful  ternunation  added 
to  the  fame  and  influence  of  Pericles,  who  was  at  that 
time  the  most  conspicuous  figure  in  Greece. 

In  B.  C.  440,  Chios,  Lesbos  and  Samos  were  the  only 
members  of  the  Confederacy  of  Delos  who  were  inde- 
pendent allies  of  Athens.  The  others  were  subject  allies. 
They  were  not  permitted  to  retain  their  own  navies 
or  fortifications,  but  were  compelled  to  pay  their  annual 
tribute  into  the  treasury  of  the  Confederacy,  and  in 
consideration  of  such  payment  were  entitled  at  all 
times  to  its  protection.  After  the  disastrous  defeat  of 
Tolmides  at  Coronea  (B.  C.  447),  Athens  lost  her 
supremacy  in  central  Greece.  The  Peloponnesians,  as 
a  result  of  that  victory,  having  destroyed  the  Athenian 
hegemony  on  land,  endeavored  also  to  accomplish  the 
defeat  of  her  supremacy  on  the  sea.     Revolts  were  in- 

550 


CAUSE    OF    SAMIAN    WAE 


SSI 


stigated  in  Euboea  and  elsewhere,  and  in  view  of  the 
threatening  power  of  her  enemies,  Athens,  acting  upon 
the  sagacious  and  prudent  counsel  of  Pericles,  sought 
peace  with  the  Lacedaemonians.  After  negotiations, 
which  continued  for  two  years,  a  treaty  was  negotiated 
(B.  C.  445),  known  as  the  Thirty  Years'  Peace  (q.  v.). 
During  the  interval  of  comparative  repose,  which 
resulted  from  this  treaty,  Pericles  beautified  and 
adorned  Athens,  with  elaborate  temples  and  costly 
public  buildings,  which  made  it  the  envy  of  all  Greece. 
The  members  of  the  Confederacy  chafed  under  the  op- 
pression to  which  they  were  subjected  in  being  com- 
pelled to  pay  tribute  into  the  treasury  of  the  league, 
which  was  used  for  the  aggrandizement  and  splendor  of 
the  capital  of  Attica.  Athens,  also,  as  the  head  of  the 
Confederacy,  drew  to  herself  jurisdiction  of  all  criminal 
cases,  and  it  is  believed  of  civil  controversies  as  well. 
Her  decision  was  binding  also,  in  all  disputes  as  to 
municipal  alTairs  among  her  independent  and  subject 

allies. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  Samian  war  grew  out  of 
a  quarrel  between  Samos  and  Miletus,  with  regard  to 
the  possession  of  Priene.  The  latter  was  situated  in 
Ionia,  on  the  south  coast  of  the  promontory  of  Mycale, 
immediately  north  of  Miletus,  on  the  opposite  penin- 
sula, the  gulf  which  separates  them  being  about  nine 
miles  wide.  Priene  is  about  twenty  miles  east  of  Samos. 
In  this  struggle  Miletus  was  defeated.  Samos  took  the 
city  of  Priene,  and  established  there  an  oligarchical 
form  of  government.  Again  we  have  the  old  bone  of 
contention  between  democracy  and  oligarchy,  which 
kept  Greece  in  a  constant  state  of  unrest.  As  a  last 
resort,  Miletus  probably  relying  on  the  influence  of 
Pericles,  the  great  democratic  leader,  endeavored  to 
persuade  the  Samians  to  submit  the  question  as  to  the 
possession  of  Priene  to  Athens,  as  sole  arbitrator  of 
the  dispute  between  them.     In  this  Miletus  was  sup- 


552 


MILITAHY   AKNALS   OF   GEEECE 


I  !  :■ 


ported  also  by  the  democratic  party  in  Samos,  who  were 
bitterly  opposed  to  the  oligarchy,  which  had  been  set 
up  in  Priene.  Samos,  however,  declined  to  submit  to 
arbitration,  and  insisted  on  her  right  to  govern  Priene, 
as  she  saw  fit. 

In  this  connection  history  touches  the  love  romance 
in  the  life  of  Pericles,  and  reveals  his  association  with 
his  mistress,  Aspasia,  the  most  distinguished  courtesan 
of  her  time.  Renowned  for  her  beauty,  her  wit  and  her 
intellectual  attainments,  Aspasia  was  a  conspicuous 
figure  among  the  public  men,  the  philosophers,  and 
poets  whose  names  have  made  the  fame  of  Greece  im- 
mortal. She  was  born  in  Miletus,  and  obtained  her  in- 
troduction to  men  of  prominence  and  power  in  emula- 
tion of  Thargelia,  whom  Plutarch  declares  was  a  cour- 
tesan of  the  old  Ionian  times  "  a  great  beauty,  ex- 
tremely charming,  and  at  the  same  time  sagacious. 
She  had  numerous  suitors  among  the  Greeks,  and 
brought  all  who  had  to  do  with  her  over  to  the  Persian 
interests."  It  is  said  she  had  fourteen  husbands.  As- 
pasia was  courted  and  caressed  by  Pericles,  it  is  said, 
not  only  on  account  of  her  personal  beauty,  her  wit, 
and  charming  manners,  but  on  account  of  her  knowl- 
edge and  skill  in  politics.  We  are  told  that  Socrates 
used  to  visit  her  with  some  of  his  acquaintances,  and 
even  those  who  frequented  her  company,  took  with 
them  their  wives  to  listen  to  her  discourses. 

The  Milesians,  having  been  defeated  by  the  Samians, 
now  desired  that  the  powerful  arm  of  Athens  might 
intervene  to  protect  her  and  punish  her  rival.  They 
appealed  to  Aspasia,  their  country-woman,  who,  by 
reason  of  her  influence  with  Pericles,  was  regarded  as  a 
powerful  factor  among  statesmen  and  politicians  at 
Athens  to  intercede  with  her  lover  in  their  behalf. 
They  did  not  appeal  in  vain.  Pericles  proposed  to  the 
Assembly  that  a  decree  be  enacted,  declaring  war  upon 
Samos,  in  favor  of  the  Milesians,  because  the  Samians 


INFLUENCE    OF    ASPASIA 


553 


refused  to  lay  down  their  arms  and  have  the  controversy 
with  Miletus  decided  by  arbitration  before  the  Athe- 
nians. And  war  was  declared.  It  has  been  said  that 
this  controversy  was  brought  about  by  Pericles  to  please 
Aspasia.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  Pericles  was  the 
greatest  democrat  of  his  time  after  Themlstocles,  and 
that  the  democratic  party  in  Athens,  was  strong 
enough  to  overthrow  the  oligarchical  adherents  under 
the  leadership  of  one  so  powerful  as  CImon,  there  seems 
to  be  no  foundation  for  the  assumption  that  the  influ- 
ence of  Aspasia  was  the  cause  which  induced  the  Athe- 
nians to  interpose  in  behalf  of  Miletus  against  Samos 
as  to  the  government  of  Priene.  The  conduct  of 
Pericles,  and  the  strength  of  the  democratic  party  in 
Athens,  would  seem  to  indicate  beyond  question  that  the 
latter  would  welcome  the  opportunity  to  intervene  on 
behalf  of  Miletus  in  order  to  establish  democracy  not 
only  in  Priene  but  in  Samos. 

Pericles  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a  fleet  of  forty 
vessels.  He  sailed  to  Samos,  broke  up  the  oligarchical 
governments  they  had  established,  and  having  taken  a 
number  of  hostages,  sent  them  to  the  Island  of  Lemnos, 
m  charge  of  an  Athenian  garrison.  Under  existing 
conditions,  there  were  but  two  sources  to  which  Samos 
could  appeal  for  relief ;  namely,  to  the  Lacedsemonians, 
the  old  enemies  of  Athens,  or  to  the  Persians.  The 
former  were  prevented  by  the  Thirty  Years'  Peace 
from  lending  aid  to  the  oligarchy  in  Samos,  but  Persia 
lent  a  willing  ear.  PIssuthaes,  satrap  of  Sardls,  inter- 
posed on  behalf  of  the  Samians,  and  sought  to  bribe 
Pericles,  off'ering  him  large  sums  of  gold  to  excuse 
Samos,  and  release  the  hostages.  Pericles  declined  to 
interfere  and  returned  to  Athens.  No  sooner  had  the 
Athenians  departed  than  the  oligarchical  party  in 
Samos,  with  the  aid  of  the  satrap  of  Sardis,  and  with 
allies  from  Byzantium,  which  also  revolted,  secretly 
set  out  in  the  night  and  proceeded  to  the  island^  of 


f 


554 


MILITABY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


I 


I 


Lemnos.  The  Athenian  garrison  there  was  overpow- 
ered, and  the  hostages  released.  With  the  aid  of  Byzan- 
tium, and  the  assistance  of  the  Persian  satrap,  Samos 
again  revolted  and  defied  the  power  of  Athens. 

Pericles  was  again  placed  in  command  of  a  fleet  of 
sixty  vessels  and  sailed  to  Samos.  A  Phoenician  fleet, 
at  the  instigation  of  Persia,  was  then  off"  the  coast  of 
Caria,  intending  to  cooperate  with  the  Samians,  and 
part  of  the  squadron  of  Pericles  sailed  to  meet  them. 
The  remainder  of  the  Athenian  fleet  engaged  the 
Samians  off  Tragia,  a  small  island  twelve  miles  south 
of  Samos,  and  though  the  Samians  mustered  seventy 
ships,  Pericles,  who  was  in  command  in  person,  after 
a  severe  contest  defeated  the  enemy.  He  was  then  re- 
inforced by  forty  ships  from  Athens,  and  twenty-five 
from  Chios  and  Lesbos.  With  this  superior  force, 
Pericles  landed  on  Samos,  invested  the  city  with  three 
walls  and  established  a  blockade  of  the  island.  With 
^hy  ships  he  then  sailed  to  the  coast  of  Caria  to  en- 
gage the  Phoenician  fleet,  sent  to  aid  the  Samians.  In 
the  absence  of  Pericles  from  Samos,  the  blockade  was 
broken,  the  Athenians  were  defeated,  and  for  a  period 
of  two  weeks  the  latter  were  absolute  masters  of  the 
sea  and  adjacent  coasts.  On  the  return  of  Pericles,  the 
blockade  was  again  reestablished.  Reinforcements  also 
began  to  arrive.  Seventy  vessels  joined  the  blockading 
squadron ;  twenty  with  Thucydides  (not  the  historian), 
Hagnon  and  Phormus;  twenty  with  Tleptolemus  and 
Anticlcs,  from  Athens ;  and  thirty  from  Chios  and  Les- 
bos. With  these  forces  the  Samian  War  was  fought 
to  a  finish,  and  after  a  campaign  of  nine  months  the 
Samians  surrendered  to  Athens,  and  Byzantium  re- 
turned to  her  allegiance. 

The  terms  of  peace  exacted  by  Athens  required  the 
Samians  to  demolish  their  walls  and  fortifications,  sur- 
render their  fleet,  furnish  hostages  as  a  guarantee 
against  further  rebellion  and  pay  to  their  conquerors 


JEALOUSY   OF    LACEDAEMONIANS 


sss 


the  entire  expenses  of  the  war,  aggregating  more  than 
$1,000,000  (a  thousand  talents). 

After  this  the  Athenians  established  their  empire  on 
a  firmer  footing,  and  advanced  themselves  to  a  great 
pitch  of  power.  The  Lacedaemonians  watched  the  ad- 
vance of  her  rival  and  saw  it  rise  to  a  dangerous  height. 
They  considered  it  no  longer  endurable  and  were  eager 
to  find  some  pretext  to  make  war  upon  her.  The  op- 
portunity presented  itself  when  Athens  lent  aid  to  Cor- 
cyra  at  the  battle  of  Sybota.     (B.  C.  432)  q.  v. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX 

THE  CORCYRIAN  WAR  —  EPIDAMNUS  —  ACTIUM — 

SYBOTA 

CORCYRA  --  Kor-si-ra  —  [  Kopxvpa]  —  (now  Corfu).  A  moun- 
tajnous  island  m  the  Ionian  Sea,  about  150  miles  north  of  the 
gulf  of  Cormth,  opposite  the  coast  of  Epirus  (now  Albania). 
It  IS  indented  by  a  crescent-shaped  bay,  giving  the  island  in  con- 
tour the  shape  of  a  sickle.  The  channel  which  separates  Corcyni 
from  the  mainland  varies  in  width.  It  is  but  two  miles  wide  at 
the  north.  Along  the  centre  it  varies  from  twelve  to  fourteen 
miles;  opposite  Cape  Leucimme,  on  the  south,  its  width  is  from 
four  to  five  miles.  It  occupies  a  strategic  position  commanding 
the  entrance  to  the  Adriatic,  and  afforded  a  naval  base  for  opera- 
tions against  the  islands  Cephallenia  and  Zacynthus,  commanding 
the  entrance  to  the  Gulf  of  Corinth. 

EPIDAMNUS  —  Epi-dam-nus  —  [EiriSa/iwf J.  A  city  on  the 
isthmus  of  an  outlying  peninsula,  in  the  Adriatic,  on  the  coast  of 
lUyria  about  120  miles  north  of  the  City  of  Corcyra,  designated 
by  the  Romans  Dyrrhachium.  It  was  founded  in  the  seventh 
century  (697  B.  C.)  by  Corcyra,  with  the  aid  of  emigrants  from 
Cormth,  the  mother  city.  Phallus,  the  leader  of  the  colony, 
claimed  direct  descent  from  Hercules. 

ACTIUM  —  Ak-shi-um  —  ["A/cTiov  J.  A  promontory  in  Acar- 
nania,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Ambracian  Gulf  which  separates 
Epirus  from  Acarnania.  It  forms  the  northern  extremity  of 
Acarnama  and  is  distant  about  forty-five  miles  southeast  of  Cape 
Leucimme,  on  the  southern  promontory  of  Corcyra. 

SYBOTA --Sib-o-ta  —  [2i^To].  An  island  in  the  Ionian 
bea,  in  the  channel  between  the  southern  extremity  of  Corcyra 
and  the  coast,  but  a  short  distance  from  the  shores  of  Epirus. 

HE  quarrel  between  Corcyra  and  Corinth, 
known  as  the  Corcyrian  War,  was  the  imme- 
diate precursor  of  the  Peloponnesian  War, 
and  was  instrumental  in  precipitating  that 
disastrous  conflict.  It  was  provoked  by  the 
interference  of  Corinth  in  the  afFairs  of  Epidamnus, 
which  sought  aid  from  Corcyra,  and  this  being  denied 

556 


COKINTH  ccy 

the  Epidamnians  appealed  to  Corinth.  The  navies 
of  the  contending  parties  met  in  the  mouth  of  the  Am- 
bracian Gulf,  off  Cape  Actium.  Corinth  suffered  over- 
whelming defeat.  Corcyra,  having  no  aUiance  either 
with  the  Athenians  or  Peloponnesians,  sought  to  make 
a  treaty  with  the  former,  which  was  secured  against 
the  emphatic  protest  of  the  Corinthians.  It  was  the  in- 
terference of  Athens,  the  new  ally  of  Corcyra  at  the 
battle  of  Sybota,  which  prevented  the  Corinthians  from 
conquering  the  Corcyrians.  This  act  on  the  part  of 
the  Athenians  was  regarded  as  a  breach  of  the  Thirty 
Years'  Truce,  and  led  directly  to  the  Peloponnesian 
War. 

The  Corcyrian  War  was  a  naval  contest.  Corinth 
was  the  oldest  sea  power  in  Hellas.  Knowledge  of  navi- 
gation was  possessed  by  the  ancients  long  before  the 
Trojan  War.  The  Egyptians  and  Phoenicians  built  up 
a  merchant  marine,  carried  on  commerce  and  estab- 
lished colonies  on  the  remote  frontiers  of  the  world  be- 
fore the  time  of  Moses.  David,  King  of  Israel,  estab- 
lished commercial  dealings  with  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre, 
and  his  son  Solomon  entered  into  a  trade  agreement 
with  him,  and  married  his  daughter.  The  navies  of 
Hiram  and  of  Solomon  made  protracted  voyages  the 
length  of  the  Mediterranean,  through  the  straits  of 
Gibraltar  to  Tartessus  (Tarshish)  in  Spain.  Evidence 
is  not  lacking  to  sustain  the  assertion  that  at  least  two 
centuries  before  the  Trojan  War,  Seti  First,  King  of 
Egypt*  constructed  a  canal  through  the  isthmus  of 
Suez  from  the  Red  Sea  to  the  eastern  waters  of  the 
Nile  Delta,  and  thence  to  the  Mediterranean.  Indeed, 
there  is  proof  to  sustain  the  further  assumption  that 
the  merchants  of  that  remote  age  circumnavigated  the 
continent  of  Africa. 

However  this  may  be,  navigation  did  not  become  gen- 
eral in  Hellas  until  wealth  began  to  accumulate  and 
cities  were  built  on  the  seashore  and  fortified  in  order 


558 


MIUTARY   ANNALS    OF    6BEECE 


to  protect  themselves  against  piracy  which  long  pre- 
vailed. The  Hellenese,  owing  to  their  weakness  and 
isolation  in  remote  antiquity,  never  united  in  any  great 
enterprise  before  the  Trojan  War.  The  expedition  led 
by  Agamemnon  with  an  armament  of  1200  ships  and 
100,000  men  was  undertaken  after  the  Greeks  had 
gained  considerable  experience  at  sea.  The  fleet  which 
sailed  from  Aulis  in  Boeotia  to  the  plains  of  Troy  was 
composed  of  war  galleys,  primitive  biremes,  without 
decks,  except  across  the  bow  and  stern,  and  were  not 
adapted  for  commercial  purposes.  For  several  gen- 
erations after  the  Trojan  War,  the  Hellenese  engaged 
in  military  enterprises  on  land  occasioned  by  the  quar- 
rels which  arose  after  the  return  of  the  heroes  from 
Troy,  in  nearly  every  city.  Those  who  were  expelled 
from  their  homes  in  these  intestine  wars  founded  other 
cities  and  established  colonies.  As  the  Hellenese  began 
to  acquire  wealth,  and  the  revenues  of  their  cities  in- 
creased, they  began  to  build  navies,  and  make  the  sea 
their  element.  The  Corinthians  lived  on  the  sea-coast 
on  the  isthmus  and  are  said  to  have  first  adopted  the 
better  style  of  ships.  Thucydides  says  that  the  oldest 
Hellenic  triremes  were  constructed  at  Corinth.  Four 
of  these  vessels  were  built  there  by  the  shipbuilder, 
Ameinocles,  for  the  Samians,  about  704  B.  C.  The 
Corinthians  established  a  colony,  and  built  the  city  of 
Corcyra  B.  C.  734,  about  the  same  time  that  she  estab- 
lished a  colony  in  Sicily.  In  less  than  a  century  after 
its  establishment  Corcyra  had  also  become  a  formidable 
sea  power  and  rebelled  against  the  mother  city.  It  was 
during  this  war  that  the  fleets  of  Corinth  and  Corcyra 
engaged  in  battle,  B.  C.  664.  This  is  said  to  have 
been  the  earliest  naval  engagement  recorded  in  history. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Corinth,  Corcyra 
had  the  most  powerful  navy  in  Hellas,  except  Athens. 
Corinth  ranked  next  after  Corcyra  as  a  naval  power. 
As  has  been  observed  Corcyra  had  been  a  commercial 


EPIDAMNUS    APPEALS    TO    COEINTH 


559 


rival  of  the  mother  city  for  more  than  two  centuries 
before  the  outbreak  of  this  war.  In  order  to  open  new 
marts,  and  to  give  employment  to  her  growing  mer- 
chant marine,  she  planted  numerous  colonies  in  Illyria, 
Thrace,  Macedonia  and  elsewhere.  Among  these  was 
Epidamnus  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Adriatic.  The 
colony  prospered  and  increased  in  wealth  and  popula- 
tion. The  usual  controversy  arose  among  the  Epi- 
damnians,  between  those  who  favored  an  oligarchy, 
and  those  who  advocated  a  democratic  form  of  govern- 
ment. Finally  the  contending  elements  resorted  to 
force.  The  oligarchical  party  sought  to  overthrow 
the  democracy  which  had  been  established.  Owing  to 
its  location  among  the  wild  lUyrian  tribes,  it  was  fre- 
quently the  object  of  attack  by  these  outlying  hordes, 
who  periodically  made  incursions  to  Epidamnus  in 
search  of  plunder.  Thus  strife  prevailed  within  and 
without  the  unfortunate  colony. 

In  the  struggle  between  the  oligarchical  party  and 
the  democracy  the  latter  finally  prevailed,  and  drove  the 
aristocrats  into  exile.  These  malcontents  having  been 
expelled  from  the  city  allied  themselves  with  the  Illyr- 
ians,  and  made  war  on  the  Epidamnians.  They  at- 
tacked the  city  both  by  land  and  sea.  In  their  extrem- 
ity, the  Epidamnians  sought  aid  from  Corcyra,  the 
mother  city.  Although  the  latter  enjoyed  a  democratic 
form  of  government,  yet  there  was  within  its  walls,  a 
strong  oligarchical  party  who  sympathized  with  the  de- 
feated exiles,  and  finally  succeeded  in  inducing  the  Cor- 
cyrians  not  to  extend  aid  to  its  colony  at  Epidamnus. 
The  latter,  now  driven  to  desperation,  after  consulting 
the  Delphic  oracle,  applied  to  Corinth  for  succor,  agree- 
ing to  transfer  to  it  its  allegiance.  Corinth  deemed 
it  proper  to  aid  Epidamnus,  since  they  regarded  it  as  a 
colony,  established  jointly  by  Corinth  and  Corcyra,  it 
being  also  the  metropolis,  or  mother  city  of  the  latter. 
They  organized  an  expedition  for  its  relief,  and,  in 


S6o 


MILITAEY  ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


order  to  avoid  the  fleets  of  Corcyra,  marched  forces  by 
land  through  Epirus,  as  far  north  as  Apolonia,  in  II- 
lyria,  within  forty  miles  of  their  destination,  and  thence 
by  sea  to  Epidamnus.  The  oligarchical  exiles,  with  a 
fleet  of  twenty-five  triremes,  then  made  a  counter  move- 
ment and  sailed  to  Corcyra,  to  aid  the  latter  against 
the  Corinthians.  The  former  had  a  formidable  fleet 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  sail.  They  dispatched  a 
squadron  of  forty  vessels  to  Epidamnus,  and  demanded 
of  the  latter  that  they  should  restore  the  exiles,  and  dis- 
miss their  Corinthian  allies.  The  demand  was  refused. 
The  Corey rians  then  blockaded  the  city,  and  menaced 
it  with  a  land  force  of  lUyrians.  Corinth  then  fitted 
out  a  second  expedition  to  raise  the  blockade,  consist- 
ing of  thirty  triremes,  and  three  thousand  hoplites, 
augmented  by  allies  from  other  Peloponnesian  states, 
in  all  seventy  vessels. 

When  news  of  this  expedition  reached  Corcyra,  the 
latter  sent  ambassadors  to  Corinth,  requesting  it  to 
withdraw  its  forces  from  Epidamnus,  and  agreed  that 
if  it  made  any  claim  to  the  city,  the  Corcyrians  were 
willing  to  submit  the  controversy  to  arbitration,  under 
the  common  public  law,  a  sort  of  law  of  nations  among 
the  Hellenic  states,  to  which  they  held  themselves  amen- 
able, and  agreed  to  abide  by  the  decision  of  such  Pelo- 
ponnesian cities  as  should  be  agreed  upon  as  arbitra- 
tors. They  were  willing  also  to  submit  the  case  to 
the  oracle  of  Delphi.  The  Corinthians  answered  that 
if  Corcyra  would  withdraw  its  blockade  and  land  forces 
from  Epidamnus,  it  would  consider  the  proposal.  Cor- 
cyra replied  that  if  Corinth  would  withdraw  its  forces 
they  would  withdraw  theirs;  or  they  would  consent 
that  matters  should  remain  as  they  were,  and  estab- 
lish a  truce  till  the  issues  should  be  decided  by  arbi- 
tration. Corinth  refused  to  listen  to  these  pacific 
proposals. 

War  was  now  the  only  alternative.     Corinth  began 


BATTLE   OFF   ACTIUM 


S6i 


to  assemble  an  armament  consisting  of  seventy-five  war 
ships  and  two  thousand  hoplites  with  which  to  give 
battle  to  the  Corcyrians.  The  latter  deprecated  war. 
Although  they  had  the  second  largest  navy  in  Hellas, 
they  had  formed  no  alliance  either  with  Athens  or  with 
the  Lacedaemonians.  They  notified  the  Corinthians  that 
if  war  was  forced  upon  them,  they  would  be  compelled 
to  seek  an  alliance  with  the  Athenians. 

The  Corinthians  disregarded  every  plea,  and 
hastened  their  preparation  for  war.  Three  admirals, 
Aristeas,  Callicrates  and  Timanor  were  placed  in  com- 
mand of  the  fleet  and  Archetimus  and  Isarchidas  were 
given  command  of  the  land  forces.  The  expedition  set 
sail  for  Epidamnus  and  sent  a  herald  before  them  to 
declare  war  (B.  C.  435  or  434). 

The  Corcyrians  sailed  out  to  meet  them  with  a  squad- 
ron of  eighty  vessels  fully  manned.  When  the  Corin- 
thians arrived  at  Actium  in  the  territory  of  Anacto- 
rium  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ambracian  gulf,  where  the 
temple  of  Apollo  stood,  the  Corcyrians  sent  a  herald 
to  them  in  a  small  boat  forbidding  them  to  advance 
further.  The  warning  of  the  herald  was  not  heeded, 
and  when  he  brought  back  no  peaceable  answer,  the 
Corcyrian  fleet  formed  in  line  of  battle,  and  engaged 
the  Corinthians  off^  Cape  Actium,  destroyed  fifteen  of 
their  ships,  and  gained  a  complete  victory  over  the 
Corinthians.  On  the  same  day  the  forces  shut  up  in 
Epidamnus  capitulated,  and  surrendered  the  place  to 
the  Corcyrians.  All  the  prisoners,  except  the  Corin- 
thians, were  sold  into  slavery.  The  latter  were  cast 
into  prison  to  await  the  issues  of  the  war. 

Thus  the  Corcyrian  War  began  off*  the  historic  cape 
in  Acarnania.  Four  centuries  later,  on  these  waters 
where  the  Greeks  contended,  infatuated  Mark  Antony 
and  his  Egyptian  queen  fought  with  Octavius  Caesar 
and  lost  an  empire  (September  21,  B.  C.  31).  In  that 
memorable  engagement  "  worlds  were  staked  for  ladies' 


* 


II 


562 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


eyes."     Lord  Byron  reminds  us  that  the  blue  waters 
of  the  Ambracian  gulf  off  Actium  marks, 

The  Azure  grave  of  many  a  Roman, 
Where  stern  ambition  once  forsook 

His  wavering  crown  to  follow  woman. 
Through  cloudless  skies,  in  silvery  sheen, 

Full  beams  the  moon  on  Actium's  coast, 
And  on  these  waves,  for  Egypt's  queen. 

The  ancient  world  was  won  and  lost. 

The  victory  of  the  Corcyrians  at  Actium  made  them 
masters  of  the  Ionian  Sea.  They  followed  up  the  ad- 
vantage they  had  gained  in  that  engagement  by  seek- 
ing to  punish  the  allies  of  Corinth  wherever  they  could. 
They  sailed  first  to  the  island  Leucas  at  the  mouth  of 
the  gulf  of  Patras,  which  forms  the  entrance  to  the 
gulf  of  Corinth,  attacked  Leucas,  a  Corinthian  colony, 
and  devastated  the  country  of  the  Leucadians.  They 
then  sailed  south  to  the  coast  of  Elis,  and  burnt  the 
port  of  Cyllene  where  the  Elians  had  established  their 
docks  and  ship-yards,  because  the  Elians  had  supplied 
the  Corinthians  with  money  and  ships  in  their  cam- 
paign against  the  Corcyrians.  During  the  remainder 
of  the  summer  season,  their  fleet  was  occupied  in  roving 
the  seas  in  the  vicinity  and  plundering  the  allies  of 
Corinth. 

The  Corinthians,  meantime,  did  all  in  their  power  to 
protect  their  allies,  who  suffered  from  the  attacks  of 
the  Corcyrians.  Their  object  was  to  increase  the 
strength  of  their  navy,  so  as  to  be  able  to  retrieve  the 
disaster  they  had  suffered  at  Actium.  Before  the  end 
of  the  summer,  they  assembled  a  fleet  off  the  cape,  the 
scene  of  their  recent  defeat,  and  established  a  camp 
and  strong  land  forces  on  the  shore  to  protect  by  their 
presence  their  allies  on  the  island  of  Leucas  and  else- 
where in  adjacent  territory.  To  guard  themselves  from 
the  incursions  of  the  Corinthians,  assembled  at  Actium, 
the  Corcyrians  assembled  their  forces  at  Cape  Leu- 


CORCYRIANS    SEEK    ALLIANCE    WITH    ATHENS        563 


h  f 


cimme,  on  the  southern  extremity  of  their  island,  dis- 
tant less  than  fifty  miles  from  Cape  Actium,  where  the 
enemy  was  in  force.  Neither  of  the  contending  forces 
cared  to  risk  a  general  engagement.  The  season  ad- 
vanced. Both  parties  remained  inactive  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  fall,  and  when  the  winter  set  in,  re- 
turned to  their  homes. 

The  Corinthians,  after  their  defeat  at  Actium,  began 
to  build  ships.  They  determined  to  assemble  a  great 
navy  and  conquer  Corey ra.  These  preparations  con- 
tinued for  the  space  of  two  years  during  which  time  the 
Corinthians  augmented  their  forces  and  recruited  sol- 
diers and  sailors  from  all  parts  of  Hellas.  These  ex- 
tensive preparations  alarmed  the  Corcyrians,  who  real- 
ized that  they  could  not  contend  alone  with  the  grow- 
ing power  of  Corinth  and  her  Peloponnesian  allies. 
They  determined  therefore  to  strengthen  themselves 
by  negotiating  an  alliance  offensive  and  defensive  with 
the  Athenians.  To  this  end  they  sent  ambassadors  to 
Athens.  The  Corinthians,  when  they  learned  that  rep- 
resentatives from  Corcyra  were  to  appear  before  the 
Athenians  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  them,  sent  ambas- 
sadors to  Athens  to  prevent  the  alliance.  The  Athe- 
nians agreed  to  give  both  a  patient  hearing.  The  as- 
sembly met  on  the  hill  of  the  Pnyx  and  listened  to  the 
arguments  presented. 

The  advocate  of  Corcyra  spoke  first.  He  urged 
that  to  grant  their  request  would  be  expedient  for  the 
Athenians  and  would  greatly  inure  to  their  benefit.  He 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  never  before  had  the 
Corcyrians  sought  an  alliance  with  any  state  in  Hellas. 
But  now,  while  engaged  in  war  with  the  Corinthians, 
they  found  themselves  isolated,  and  were  suddenly 
made  aware  of  the  mistake  they  had  made  in  not  seek- 
ing an  alliance.  Their  lonely  position  in  the  world 
demonstrated  that  their  policy  had  been  not  wisdom, 
but  folly.     At  Actium  they  had  defeated  the  Corin- 


I 


564 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


thians  single-handed,  but  now  their  enemy  was  gather- 
ing a  powerful  armament,  from  the  Peloponnesus  and 
all  parts  of  Hellas,  with  which  to  attack  them.  They 
were  not  able  to  resist  them  successfully,  and  were  com- 
pelled to  ask  the  assistance  of  a  powerful  ally. 

The  next  point  advanced  was  the  glorious  oppor- 
tunity that  such  an  alliance  would  afford  the  Athenians. 
They  were  reminded  that  they  would  aid  the  oppressed, 
not  the  oppressor,  and  by  negotiating  a  treaty  they 
would  win  the  lasting  gratitude  of  Corcyra,  and  would 
secure  the  aid  of  the  largest  navy  in  Hellas,  next  to 
their  own,  than  which  nothing  could  be  more  annoying 
to  their  enemies.  Athens  would  incur  no  danger  and 
no  expense  by  this  voluntary  accession  of  power,  which 
would  place  at  the  disposal  of  Athens  a  navy  larger 
than  that  of  Corinth. 

The  Corcyrian  envoy  then  predicted  the  speedy  ad- 
vent of  the  Peloponnesian  War,  which  he  declared  was 
imminent.     This  telling  point  was  urged  as  follows: 

"  If  any  one  thinks  that  the  war  in  which  our  serv- 
ices may  be  needed  will  never  arrive,  he  is  mistaken. 
He  does  not  see  that  the  Lacedaemonians,  fearing  the 
growth  of  your  empire,  are  eager  to  take  up  arms,  and 
that  the  Corinthians  are  all-powerful  with  them.  They 
begin  with  us,  but  they  will  go  on  to  you,  that  we  may 
not  stand  united  against  them  in  the  bond  of  a  common 
enmity.  They  will  not  miss  the  chance  of  weakening 
us  and  strengthening  themselves.  And  it  is  our  busi- 
ness to  strike  first,  we  offering  and  you  accepting  our 
alliance,  and  thus  forestall  their  designs  instead  of 
waiting  to  counteract  them." 

In  answer  to  the  point  that  they  were  a  colony  of 
Corinth  their  reply  was  that  all  colonies  honor  their 
mother  city  when  she  treats  them  well,  but  are 
estranged  from  her  by  injustice.  That  they  had  of- 
fered  to  arbitrate  in  the  matter  of  Epidamnus,  but 
Corinth  refused  to  listen  to  or  consent  to  a  legal  trial. 


ADVANTAGES    OF   ALLIANCE   WITH   CORCYEA        565 

The  next  point  urged  was  that  Athens,  by  entering 
into  the  alliance,  would  not  thereby  violate  the  Thirty 
Years'   Truce.      In    support   of   this   proposition,   the 
speaker  quoted  from  the  treaty  the  following  clause: 
**  Any  Hellenic  city  which  is  the  ally  of  no  one,  may 
join  whichever  league  he  pleases."     It  was,  therefore, 
absurd  to  say  that  the   Corinthians   could  man  their 
fleet  with  recruits,  not  only  from  their  own  confederacy, 
but  even  from  among  Athenians,  and  then  argue  that 
the  Corcyrians  should  be  debarred  from  seeking  an  ally, 
and  denounce  as  a  crime  the  act  of  Athens  in  negotia- 
ting such  an  alliance.     By  so  doing  the  Athenians  were 
reminded  that  they  would  be  thrusting  away  the  Cor- 
cyrians, who  are  not  their  enemies,  and  instead  of  re- 
straining the  enemy  and  the  aggressor,  would  permit 
him  to  gather  fresh  forces  out  of  their  own  dominions. 
"  Our  enemies,"  said  the  speaker,  "  are  your  enemies, 
and  this  is  the  best  guarantee  of  fidelity  in  an  ally."    It 
was  pointed  out  also  that  the  proposed  alliance  was 
not  with  an  inland  power,  but  with  a  maritime  power, 
which  it  would  be  indeed  a  serious  matter  to  refuse. 
Whoever  is  the  strongest  at  sea,  it  is  your  interest  to 
make  him  your  friend.     The  Athenians  were  then  re- 
minded of  the  strategic  position  of  Corcyra,  located 
between  the  Adriatic  and  Ionian  seas,  and  conveniently 
situated  for  the  coast  voyage  to  Italy  and  Sicily.     It 
stands  in  the  way  also  of  any  fleet  coming  from  thence 
to  the  Peloponnesus  and  can  also  protect  a  fleet  on  its 
way  to  Sicily.    In  conclusion,  the  ambassador  observed, 
"  Hellas  has  only  three  navies ;    there  is  ours,  there  is 
yours,  and  there  is  the  Corinthian.     Now  if  the  Corin- 
thians get  hold  of  ours,  and  you  allow  the  two  to  be- 
come one,  you  will  have   to  fight  against  the  united 
navies  of  Corcyra  and  the  Peloponnesus.     But  if  you 
make  us  your  allies,  you  will  have  our  navy  in  addition 
to  your  own,  ranged  at  your  side  in  the  impending 
conflict." 


:'l 


n 


566 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


In  answer  to  this  powerful  plea  of  the  advocate  for 
Corcyra,  the  Ambassador,  chosen  to  represent  the  in- 
terests of  Corinth,  arose  and  addressed  the  Assembly. 
He  began  by  pointing  out  that  the  boasted  neutrality 
of  Corcyra  was  simply  a  cloak  to  conceal  their  crimes. 
They  did  not  want  an  ally,  who  might  publish  their 
misdeeds  to  the  world.  They  oppress  the  weak  and  per- 
petrate fraud  whenever  in  their  judgment  circum- 
stances will  prevent  detection. 

The  speaker  then  showed  that  Corcyra  was  the 
daughter  city  of  Corinth,  and  as  such  she  was  entitled 
to  the  love  and  respect  of  her  own  colony.  "  If  it 
should  seem  strange  to  you  Athenians,"  he  said,  "  that 
we  have  made  war  on  our  daughter  city,  you  should 
remember  always  that  they  are  fighting  against  us, 
on  the  plea  that  they  were  not  sent  out  to  be  ill  used. 
Surely  you  must  recognize  the  fact  that  we  did  not 
establish  them,  and  build  them  up  in  order  that  we 
might  be  injured  and  insulted  by  them.  It  is  their 
duty  to  recognize  the  mother  city  as  their  leader  and 
accord  to  us  proper  respect.  If  it  seems  extraordinary 
that  we  should  go  to  war  with  them,  our  answer  is  that 
the  injury  they  are  doing  us  is  unexampled. 

"  Epidamnus  is  our  colony.  Corcyra  would  not  ren- 
der aid  to  it  when  in  distress,  but  when  we  came  to  her 
rescue,  they  seized  it,  and  are  now  holding  it  by  force, 
and  their  pretense  that  they  offered  arbitration  is  a 
hollow  mockery  and  a  sham  because  no  such  offer  was 
made  until  they  had  recourse  to  arms,  and  they  now 
fear  our  vengeance.  And,"  continued  the  speaker, 
"  as  if  the  wrong  which  they  have  themselves  done  at 
Epidamnus  were  not  enough,  they  now  come  hither  and 
ask  you  to  be,  not  their  allies,  but  their  accomplices 
in  crime,  and  would  have  you  receive  them  when  they 
are  at  enmity  with  us." 

It  was  then  pointed  out  that  the  Athenians  never  de- 
rived any  benefit  from  the  power  of  Corcyra,  but  the 


ARGUMENTS    URGED   BY    CORINTH  567 

latter  would  be  benefited  by  an  Athenian  alliance.  "  If 
the  alliance  is  made,"  the  speaker  said,  "  although  the 
Athenians  would  be  innocent  of  the  crimes  committed 
by  Corcyra,  they  will  be  held  responsible  for  them  by 
the  Corinthians." 

The  ambassador  then  argued  that  Athens  had  no 
legal  right  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  Corcyra,  be- 
cause such  an  agreement  would  constitute,  so  far  as 
Athens  was  concerned,  a  violation  of  the  Thirty  Years' 
Truce.  Admitting  that  the  treaty  permits  any  neutral 
city  to  join  any  league  it  pleases,  this  provision,  it  was 
urged,  had  no  application  to  those  who  have  in  view 
positive  injury  to  others,  who  are  members  or  parties 
to  the  instrument.  The  argument  was  advanced  that 
the  language  of  the  treaty  should  be  construed,  only  to 
include  those  who  are  actually  in  need  of  protection, 
and  can  have  no  application  to  a  city  which  has  for- 
saken its  allegiance  to  the  mother  city  and  which  will 
bring  to  those  who  treat  with  them  war  instead  of  peace. 
Then  followed  this  threat  on  the  part  of  the  speaker. 
"  War  the  Corcyrians  will  bring  to  you  if  you  will  listen 
to  them  and  not  to  us." 

The  advocate  then  appealed  to  the  gratitude  which 
the  Athenians  owed  to  Corinth.  The  former  were  ad- 
monished that  if  they  must  make  an  alliance  to  make  it 
with  Corinth,  not  with  Corcyra,  and  were  reminded  of 
the  Samian  War,  when  Samos  revolted  from  Athens  in 
violation  of  the  constitution  of  the  Delian  Confederacy. 
At  that  time  the  Peloponnesians  were  divided  in  opinion 
as  to  giving  aid  to  the  Samian  rebels,  the  speaker  said, 
and  reminded  his  hearers  that  it  was  the  Corinthians 
who  voted  in  favor  of  Athens,  and  advocated  the  whole- 
some doctrine,  which  it  now  invoked,  "  that  every  one 
should  be  allowed  to  chastise  his  own  allies."  This 
proposition,  it  was  asserted,  was  fully  sustained  by 
Hellenic  law.  Thus,  by  preventing  the  Peloponnesians 
from  aiding  Samos,  the  Athenians  were  enabled  to  chas- 


f 


S68 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    OR££C£ 


tise  her  rebellious  allies  on  that  island.  But  it  was 
urged  further  that  when  Athens  was  at  war  with  ^Egina 
before  the  Persian  War,  and  was  in  need  of  ships,  the 
Corinthians  loaned  them  twenty  vessels  which  enabled 
the  Athenians  to  punish  the  JEgenitans.  (There  was 
no  suggestion  that  at  the  time  referred  to  Corinth  ^ 
and  iEgina  were  rivals  and  deadly  enemies.) 

Referring  to  the  threatened  Peloponnesian  Waf, 
which  the  Corey rians  brought  forward  as  a  reason  why 
Athens  should  join  forces  with  them,  the  speaker  sug- 
gested it  might  never  come  and  for  that  reason  the  ar- 
gument had  no  force.  The  speaker  further  begged  the 
Athenians  not  to  be  influenced  by  the  offer  of  a  strong 
naval  alliance,  because  by  making  the  treaty  Athens 
would  do  wrong,  and  to  do  right  was  better  than  to 
secure  a  maritime  combination,  to  injure  a  state,  that 
was  seeking  only  to  punish  its  daughter  city.  In  con- 
clusion the  speaker  said: 

"  We  are  now  ourselves  in  the  same  situation  in  which 
you  were  placed,  when  we  declared  at  Sparta  that  every 
one  so  placed  should  be  allowed  to  chastise  his  own  allies. 
We  now  claim  to  receive  at  your  hands  the  same  treat- 
ment we  then  accorded  to  you.  You  profited  by  our 
vote  on  that  occasion.  We  should  not  now  be  injured 
by  yours.  Pay  what  you  owe,  knowing  that  this  is  our 
time  of  need,  in  which  a  man's  best  friend  is  he  who 
does  him  a  service,  and  he  who  opposes  him  is  his  worst 
enemy.  Do  not  receive  into  alliance  the  Corcyrians  in 
spite  of  us.  Do  not  uphold  them  in  injustice.  Con- 
sult your  own  best  interests  by  acting  justly." 

The  Assembly  after  having  listened  patiently  to  the 
very  able  arguments,  advanced  by  the  respective  parties, 
took  under  advisement  the  important  question  as  to 
whether  the  alliance  asked  for  by  Corcyra  should  be 
granted  or  denied.    We  are  told  that  two  sessions  were 

*  Herod,  vi,  89. 


DEFENSIVE   ALLIANCE    AUTHORIZED  569 

held.  In  the  first,  opinion  seemed  to  favor  the  request 
of  Corinth,  that  Athens  should  deny  the  petition  of 
Corcyra.  At  the  second  session,  however,  there  was  a 
change,  wrought  in  all  probability  by  the  influence  of 
Pericles.  This  assumption  is  justified  in  view  of  the 
character  of  the  alliance  agreed  upon.  Pericles  never 
would  consent,  so  far  as  his  voice,  and  vote  were  con- 
cerned, to  yield  to  the  arbitrary  demands  of  Sparta 
or  her  allies.  This  appears  from  his  speech  delivered 
a  year  later  to  the  Spartan  envoys,  declining  to  con- 
sent to  revoke  the  decree  denying  to  Megara  entry  to 
her  ports,  or  to  withdraw  her  squadrons  and  land  forces 
from  Potidasa  at  the  behest  of  the  Lacedaemonians.  It 
is  obvious,  also,  that  the  principal  fact  which  influenced 
their  final  action  was  their  belief  that  the  Peloponnesian 
War  was  at  hand. 

The  Athenians  guided  by  Pericles,  were  past  masters 
in  the  art  of  diplomacy.  They  concluded,  therefore, 
not  to  make  an  alliance  with  Corcyra,  both  off'ensive 
and  defensive,  because  such  a  treaty  would  impose  an 
obligation  on  the  part  of  the  Athenians  to  declare  war 
against  Corinth.  Such  an  agreement  would  be  clearly 
a  violation  of  the  Thirty  Years'  Truce.  They,  there- 
fore, entered  into  a  defensive  alliance,  which  obliged 
them  only  to  protect  each  other  when  attacked,  and 
claimed  that  by  so  doing  they  were  not  guilty  of  any 
breach  of  the  Truce.  The  Athenians  believed  that  the 
Peloponnesian  War  was  inevitable,  and  they  determined 
not  to  permit  Corcyra  and  her  formidable  navy  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  Corinth.  They  knew  that  hostilities 
between  Corinth  and  Corcyra  would  weaken  the  naval 
strength  of  the  former.  They  desired  also  to  have 
Corcyra  as  an  ally  by  reason  of  its  position  in  the 
Ionian  Sea,  which  was  advantageous  in  case  an  expe- 
dition was  fitted  out  against  Italy  or  Sicily.  Bitterly 
disappointed,  the  Corinthians  sailed  away,  to  renew  the 
war  with  Corcyra. 


570 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


Athens  immediately  dispatched  a  squadron  of  ten 
ships  to  Corcyra,  with  instructions  not  to  attack  the 
Corinthians  unless  they  sailed  against  the  Corcyrians 
or  any  place  belonging  to  her.  In  case  their  ally,  the 
Corcyrians  was  attacked,  the  Athenians  were  ordered 
to  protect  her  to  the  utmost. 

The  Corinthians  assembled  a  fleet  of  150  ships,  made 
up  as  follows : 

Corinthian  vessels   90 

Elean    10 

Megarian    13 

Leucadian   10 

Ambraciots   27 

Anactorlum    I 

Total  Fleet 150 

The  squadron  sailed  against  Corcyra  from  the  island 
of  Leucas,  and  anchored  off  the  mainland  opposite  Cor- 
cyra. The  Corcj^rian  fleet  consisted  of  110  ships. 
They  were  accompanied  by  10  Athenian  vessels.  The 
land  forces  encamped  on  the  promontory  of  Leucimme. 
A  thosuand  hoplites  from  Zacynthus  volunteered  to  aid 
the  army  of  Corcyra.  The  island  of  Sybota  in  the 
Corcyrian  channel  lay  between  the  contending  forces. 
Both  fleets  were  numerous  and  covered  a  wide  space  of 
the  sea.  When  preparations  were  completed  the  Corin- 
thians took  with  them  three  days'  provisions,  and  put 
off  by  night  intending  to  give  battle.  At  daybreak 
they  discerned  the  Corcyrian  fleet  approaching  to  meet 
them.  The  squadrons  were  then  drawn  up  in  line  of 
battle,  and  the  engagement  which  followed  is  known  in 
history  as  the  battle  of  Sybota,  fought  probably  in  the 
month  of  June,  B.  C.  432. 

When  the  engagement  began,  both  sides  had  many 
heavy  armed  on  the  decks  and  many  bowmen  and  dart- 
men.  Thucydides,  in  his  account  of  the  fight,  says  that 
the  battle  was  well  contested,  not  so  much  in  point  of 


BATTLE    OF   SYBOTA 


S7I 


skill,  but  like  a  land  fight,  because  they  trusted  to  the 
heavy  armed  who  fought  on  the  decks  when  the  vessels 
ran  along  side  of  each  other  and  remained  stationary. 
"  They  fought  with  fierceness  and  strength  more  than 
with  science."  Brute  force  and  rage  made  up  for  want 
of  tactics.  Never  before  had  two  Hellenic  navies  so 
numerous  met  in  battle.  On  all  sides  was  much  con- 
fusion. Early  in  the  day,  the  right  wing  of  the  Corin- 
thians was  worsted.  They  were  routed  by  twenty  ships 
of  the  enemy,  who  pursued  them  as  they  were  in  a  scat- 
tered condition  to  the  shores  of  Epirus,  sailed  up  to 
their  encampment,  went  ashore  and  burned  and  plun- 
dered their  deserted  camp.  On  the  other  wing,  where 
all  were  Corinthian  ships,  the  latter  won  a  decisive 
victory,  as  twenty  ships  of  the  Corcyrians  were  absent, 
their  crews  being  engaged  in  plundering  the  enemy's 
tents  on  shore.  It  was  at  this  critical  moment,  that  the 
ten  Athenian  vessels,  no  longer  remained  neutral,  but 
took  an  active  part  in  the  engagement.  The  victorious 
Corinthians  on  the  left  wing  pursued  the  enemy  to  the 
island  of  Sybota,  and  took  thither  their  wrecks  and 
most  of  their  dead.  Although  it  was  now  quite  late,  the 
Corinthians  were  about  to  renew  the  engagement. 
When  the  Paean  had  been  sung  for  them  to  advance, 
they  observed  twenty  fresh  Athenian  ships,  which  had 
not  yet  been  engaged,  sailing  towards  them.  They 
had  been  sent  out  and  followed  close  after  to  reinforce 
the  ten  ships,  which  had  been  dispatched  with  the  Cor- 
cyrians.    Night  coming  on,  hostilities  ceased. 

The  next  morning  the  Athenians  and  the  Corcyrians, 
who  had  gone  in  camp  the  previous  night  at  Leucimme, 
on  the  southern  extremity  of  Corcyra,  sailed  over  to 
the  island  of  Sybota,  to  know  if  the  Corinthians  in- 
tended to  further  engage  in  battle,  but  the  latter  de- 
clined on  account  of  the  fresh  contingent  of  Athenian 
ships  which  had  come  to  the  relief  of  the  Corcyrians. 
As  Corinth  was  not  at  war  with  Athens,  they  charged 


i 


;ii 


572 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


the  latter  with  violating  the  Thirty  Years'  Truce,  in 
aiding  the  Corcyrians  in  battle  against  them.  The 
Athenians  answered  the  herald  sent  by  the  Corinthians 
to  the  effect  that  Athens  was  not  commencing  war  and 
had  not  violated  the  Thirty  Years'  Truce.  They  as- 
sured the  Corinthians  that  they  would  not  hinder  or 
molest  them,  unless  they  sailed  against  Corcyra,  or  to 
any  of  the  places  belonging  to  it,  and  in  that  case  only 
would  they  assist  the  Corcyrians,  who  were  allies  of 
Athens.  Thus  Athens  snatched  victory  from  Corinth, 
in  her  attempt  to  conquer  Corcyra. 

Both  sides  erected  trophies  at  Sybota,  and  on  the 
continent  as  both  sides  claimed  the  victory ;  the  Corin- 
thians because  they  had  secured  the  greater  number  of 
wrecks  and  dead  bodies;  the  Corcyrians  based  their 
claim  on  the  ground  that  the  Corinthians,  when  they 
saw  the  fresh  squadron  of  Athenian  ships,  rowed  astern 
and  did  not  renew  the  engagement.  The  Corinthians 
took  not  less  than  one  thousand  prisoners,  and  disabled 
about  seventy  of  the  enemy's  ships.  The  Corcyrians 
destroyed  about  thirty  ships  of  the  Corinthian  fleet. 
The  number  of  killed  and  wounded  is  not  recorded. 
The  Corinthians  then  sailed  homeward,  and  by  means  of 
treachery  took  the  city  of  Anactorium  (q.  v.)  in  Acar- 
nania,  a  short  distance  east  of  Actium.  Thus  the  Cor- 
cyrian  War  was  concluded.  As  was  anticipated  and 
clearly  predicted,  the  Peloponnesian  War  began  in  the 
following  spring  after  the  battle  of  Sybota  (March  31, 
B.  C.  431),  by  the  surprise  at  Plataea. 


CHAPTER    XL 

THE    PELOPONNESIAN    WAR    AND    ITS    CAUSES 

HE  Peloponnesian  War  was  the  culmination 
of  constant  bickering  and  jealousy  prompted 
by  local  pride  and  commercial  rivalry,  which 
interrupted  Hellenic  unity,  and  finally 
destroyed  Greece.  This  spirit  of  disunion 
and  selfishness  was  born  in  the  Peloponnesus,  where 
Sparta  could  brook  no  rival.  Argos  long  held  superior 
claims  to  leadership  on  the  peninsula.  That  city  traced 
its  claims  to  pohtical  supremacy  to  the  age  of  legend 
and  fable,  to  Diomede,  king  of  Argos,  the  friend  Aga- 
memnon, king  of  Mycenae,  and  his  ally  in  the  Trojan 
War.  Argos  also  became  the  mother  city  of  the  Doric 
kingdoms  of  Epidaurus,  Troezen,  Scycion  and  Corinth. 
The  Lacedaemonians  would  not  recognize  the  claims  of 
Argos,  and  sought  to  become  the  dominant  power  in 
the  peninsula. 

Very  early  in  the  fifth  century  B.  C.  about  the  time 
of  the  siege  of  Miletus  by  Darius,  B.  C.  496,  Argos  was 
humbled  by  the  Spartan  king,  Cleomenes.  In  an  en- 
gagement at  Sepia,  near  Tiryns,  the  latter  at  the  head 
of  a  numerous  army  slew  six  thousand  Argives  and  de- 
prived Argos  of  her  ancient  supremacy.  A  few  years 
later,  when  Xerxes  threatened  the  destruction  of  Hel- 
las, Argos  was  asked  to  ally  herself  with  the  Greeks,  to 
fight  the  invaders.  She  promised  compliance,  provided 
Sparta  would  consent  to  a  thirty  years'  truce,  and  give 
her  an  equal  share  of  the  command  of  the  allied  forces. 
Sparta  refused  upon  the  specious  pretext,  that  its  form 

573 


m 


574 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


of  government  forbade.  Under  the  diarchy  Sparta  had 
two  kings  while  Argos  had  but  one,  and  it  was  not  pos- 
sible they  said,  to  deprive  either  sovereign  of  his  com- 
mand. The  king  of  Argos  was  informed,  however,  that 
if  he  desired  he  would  be  conceded  an  equal  vote  with 
these  two.  The  offer  was  declined.  Thus  Sparta  de- 
prived Greece  of  the  aid  of  Argos  in  the  second  Per- 
sian War. 

Thebes  refused  also  to  aid  her  countrymen,  because 
of  her  jealousy  and  hatred  of  Athens,  for  the  reason 
that  the  latter  would  not  permit  the  Thebans  to  sub- 
jugate the  neighboring  city  of  Plataea,  across  the 
Asopus,  on  the  borders  of  Boeotia  and  Attica. 

Sparta  also  tried  to  humiliate  Athens  in  the  sixth 
century  B.  C.  When  the  latter  was  subject  to  political 
revolutions  in  the  time  of  Pisistratus  and  his  sons,  Cle- 
omenes  sent  a  herald  from  Sparta,  at  the  behest  of 
Isagoras,  directing  that  Clisthenes,  who  instituted  the 
ten  tribes,  and  founded  the  democracy  of  Attica,  should 
be  expelled  and  driven  from  Athens.  His  orders  were 
backed  by  a  Spartan  army  which  invaded  Attica,  and 
banished  seven  hundred  Athenian  families.  This  was 
the  fourth  time  that  the  Dorians  had  invaded  Athens. 
After  the  recall  of  Clisthenes,  the  warlike  demonstra- 
tions became  so  threatening  that  Athenian  ambas- 
sadors visted  Sardis,  for  the  purpose  of  inviting  aid 
from  Persia  to  make  war  against  the  Lacedaemonians. 
This  plan,  however,  was  never  consummated,  and  was 
speedily  abandoned.  Then  Cleomenes,  because  the 
Athenians  refused  to  restore  Isagoras,  took  it  upon 
himself  to  assemble  an  army  of  Lacedaemonians  to  at- 
tack them.  He  made  an  alliance  in  the  north,  with  the 
BcEotians  and  Chalcidians  in  Eubcea,  who  attacked  and 
ravaged  the  borders  of  Attica,  while  the  Spartan  was 
preparing  to  march  on  Athens.  When  Cleomenes 
reached  Eleusis,  Demaratus,  his  reigning  associate, 
when  the  object  of  the  expedition  was  disclosed  to  him, 


WARS    FOR    ATHENIAN    EXPANSION 


575 


refused  to  participate  in  the  enterprise,  and  the  Lace- 
daemonians returned  to  their  homes.  Then  the  Athe- 
nians sought  to  punish  their  enemies  in  the  north  and 
attacked  and  defeated  the  Boeotians  and  Chalcidians, 
for  the  part  they  had  taken  in  the  affair. 

But  these  minor  intestine  wars  and  jealous  rivalries 
were  not,  of  themselves,  sufficient  to  provoke  the  great 
Peloponnesian  War,  a  contest  which  was  to  divide  the 
country  into  two  hostile  camps,  whose  contending 
armies  struggled  for  nearly  a  generation,  and  which 
finally  resulted  in  the  overthrow  of  the  Athenian  em- 
pire, and  the  destruction  of  Hellas. 

After  the  quarrels  and  military  disturbances  above 
referred  to,  came  the  Persian  Wars,  which  compelled 
Greece  to  forego  her  domestic  hostilities,  and  unite  her 
resources  to  repel  a  foreign  foe.  Then  followed  the 
wars  for  the  expulsion  of  Persia  from  the  ^gean  Sea 
and  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor.  These  supplemental  wars 
may  as  well  have  been  designated  wars  for  Attic  ex- 
pansion, as  for  Persian  expulsion.  While  these  cam- 
paigns were  conducted  primarily  to  drive  the  Persian 
arms  from  Europe,  they  were  incidentally  the  direct 
means  of  building  up  the  Athenian  Empire,  which  was 
established  by  the  aid  of  the  Delian  confederacy. 
Sparta  dropped  out  of  these  enterprises,  when  her  ad- 
miral, Pausanias,  was  deposed  as  commander-in-chief, 
and  when  the  Hellenic  fleet  refused  to  obey  the  admiral 
sent  by  the  Spartan  Ephors  to  take  his  place,  and  con- 
tinued their  allegiance  to  the  Athenian  commanders, 
Aristides  and  Cimon.  The  Lacedaemonians,  when  they 
could  no  longer  lead,  withdrew,  and  abandoned  to 
Athens,  the  conduct  of  the  war.  Later,  that  city  built 
her  long  walls  to  the  sea,  in  spite  of  Sparta,  and  against 
her  solemn  protest,  and  the  latter  became  her  principal 
rival  and  pronounced  enemy. 

These  wars  for  Athenian  expansion  resulted  in  the 
establishment  of  new  Athenian  colonies  throughout  the 


576 


MIUTABY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


western  world.  Protected  by  her  powerful  navy,  these 
numerous  trading  ports  increased,  and  poured  their 
commercial  wealth  into  the  treasury  of  Athens,  the 
mother  city,  which  rapidly  became  the  richest  munici- 
pality in  the  world.  Athens  increased  but  Corinth  de- 
creased. It  soon  became  apparent  that  if  Athens  was 
permitted  to  continue  to  absorb  the  world's  commerce, 
Corinth,  the  most  powerful  ally  of  Sparta,  would  ulti- 
mately lose  her  colonies  and  her  commerce,  and  sink 
into  insignificance  as  a  maritime  power.  Her  trade  in 
the  iEgean  and  Asia  Minor  had  dwindled.  Potidea, 
an  important  colony  in  the  Chalcidian  peninsula,  had 
abandoned  her  and  sought  alliance  with  Athens.  Per- 
icles had  taken  the  island  of  ^gina  and  established 
ports  in  Megara  on  both  sides  of  the  isthmus  of 
Corinth,  established  himself  in  Achaia,  had  entered 
Argolis  also,  and  taken  Troezen,  an  important  port  on 
the  gulf  of  Argolis.  When  Sparta,  at  the  close  of  the 
third  Messenian  War,  permitted  their  enemies,  the  Mes- 
senians  and  Helots,  to  depart,  after  the  fall  of  Ithome, 
Pericles  established  them  as  an  Athenian  colony  at  Nau- 
pactus  (now  Lepanto)  in  Locris,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Corinthian  gulf.  From  this  point  they  made  war  on 
all  settlements  established  by  Corinth  in  iEtolia,  Acar- 
nania,  and  Epirus,  because  Corinth  was  an  ally  of 
Sparta,  and  Sparta  was  the  life  long  enemy  of  Mes- 
senia. 

Thus  Athens,  reaching  out  for  empire,  planted  her 
colonies  on  both  shores  of  the  Corinthian  gulf,  invaded 
the  commercial  territory  of  Corinth,  and  threatened 
her  with  financial  ruin. 

Of  course  Pericles  in  negotiating  the  Thirty  Years* 
Peace  was  obliged  to  give  up  Achaia,  Troezen  in  Ar- 
golis, and  Nisffi  and  Pegea  in  Megara,  but  she  later 
found  occasion  to  make  an  alliance  with  Corcyra,  a 
naval  power  commanding  the  Ionian  Sea.  It  was  orig- 
inally a  daughter  city  of  Corinth,  but  revolted,  gained 


ATHENS    CHARGED    WITH    VIOLATING    TREATT      577 

her  independence  and  established  her  own  colonies  on 
the  coasts  of  lUyria  and  elsewhere.  Corcyra  planted 
the  flourishing  city  of  Epidamnus  on  the  Adriatic, 
about  seventy-five  miles  north  of  the  borders  of  Epirus. 
Corinth  joined  Epidamnus  in  her  efforts  to  throw  off 
her  allegiance  to  Corcyra.  This  conduct  on  the  part  of 
Corinth  was  resented,  and  in  retaliation  for  the  inter- 
ference of  the  mother  city,  Corcyra  attempted  to  seize 
Corinthian  ports  in  Acarnania  and  Achaia.  These 
quarrels,  which  lasted  for  three  years,  are  known  as  the 
Corey rian  War.  (q.  v.) 

The  power  of  Athens  was  shown  at  the  battle  of 
Sybota,  B.  C.  432  (q.  v.),  when  the  Corey  rian  fleet 
was  saved  from  the  Corinthian  navy  by  an  Athenian 
squadron,  and  victory  snatched  from  the  Corinthians, 
after  they  had  defeated  their  enemy  in  that  memorable 
conflict  off  the  coast  of  Epirus. 

During  this  war  the  advantages  gained  by  Corcyra 
by  reason  of  the  influence  of  her  Athenian  allies,  was 
such  that  Corinth  found  herself  involved  in  a  life  and 
death  struggle  to  maintain  her  independence.  Her  sal- 
vation depended  on  her  power  to  retain  her  supremacy. 
Athens  must  be  humbled  and  driven  out  of  the  west, 
and  from  the  Corinthian  Gulf,  or  Corinth  would  cease 
to  be  a  maritime  power.  She  was  the  most  powerful 
ally  of  Sparta.  The  time  had  now  arrived  when  the 
latter  must  assist  Corinth,  and  enable  her  to  throw  off 
the  yoke  of  Athens.  War,  therefore,  was  inevitable, 
and  the  war  came. 

The  conduct  of  the  Athenians  at  Sybota  was  re- 
garded by  the  Corinthians  as  a  direct  violation  of  the 
treaty  known  as  the  Thirty  Years'  Truce.  As  soon  as 
the  battle  had  ceased  the  Corinthians  sent  a  messenger 
to  the  Athenian  commander,  who  complained  that 
Athens  had  no  right  to  prevent  the  Corinthians  from 
chastising  their  enemies,  the  Corcyrians.  That  if  they 
wished  to   break   the  treaty,  they  should  attack  the 


578 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


Corinthians  first,  and  deal  directly  with  them  as  enemies. 
The  Athenians  replied  that  they  had  not  violated  the 
treaty,  but  had  only  given  aid  to  the  Corcyrians,  be- 
cause the  latter  were  allies  of  Athens,  They  declared 
further  that  they  did  not  intend  to  harm  the  Corin- 
thians, and  that  they  would  strictly  observe  all  the 
terms  and  conditions  of  the  treaty  of  peace.  The 
answer,  of  course,  failed  to  soothe  the  ire  of  the  Corin- 
thians. 

Another  cause  of  complaint  against  Athens  arose 
from  the  fact,  as  has  been  observed,  that  Potidea  oc- 
cupied by  a  Corinthian  and  Peloponnesian  garrison 
was  being  besieged  and  blockaded  on  land  and  sea  by  an 
Athenian  fleet  and  army.  But  Athens,  when  charged 
with  violating  the  treaty,  on  this  account,  used  the 
same  plausible  excuse  which  was  urged  at  Sybota, 
namely,  that  Potidea,  though  a  Corinthian  colony,  had 
become  an  ally  of  Athens,  and  that  the  latter  had  a 
right  to  protect  her  allies. 

Corinth  was  now  thoroughly  alarmed.  The  interfer- 
ence of  Athens  had  become  intolerable.  Her  troops 
were  shut  up  within  the  walls  of  Potidea  which  was  be- 
ing besieged  by  an  Athenian  army  under  Phormio, 
while  an  Athenian  fleet  prevented  supplies  being  car- 
ried to  the  beleaguered  town.  Corinth  demanded  that 
the  Lacedaemonians  must  act.  The  allies  were  sum- 
moned, and  sent  their  representatives  to  Sparta.  They 
set  forth  at  length,  before  the  assembly,  their  many 
grievances  against  Athens,  and  contended  that  the 
latter  had  broken  the  Thirty  Years'  Truce,  and  were 
continuing  to  violate  that  compact.  Megara  com- 
plained that  her  ships  had  been  excluded  from  every 
Athenian  port,  and  from  the  Athenian  markets  in  vio- 
lation of  the  treaty.  Those  from  JEgina,  claimed  that 
they  had  been  robbed  of  their  independence  contrary 
to  the  express  terms  of  the  treaty.  Then  the  Corin- 
thian ambassador,  whose  city  had  suff^ered  most  of  all, 


m 


CORINTH    URGES    WAR 


579 


made  a  powerful  plea,  and  urged  Sparta  to  declare 
war  against  Athens.  His  argument  has  been  preserved 
by  Thucydides.  "Who  among  you,"  said  the  envoy, 
"  has  a  better  right  to  speak  than  ourselves,  who  have 
the  heaviest  accusations  to  make,  outraged  as  we  are 
by  the  Athenians,  and  neglected  by  you.  [Lacedaemo- 
nians] .  .  .  What  need  of  many  words.  Some  of  us, 
as  you  see,  have  been  already  enslaved.  They  are  at 
this  moment  intriguing  against  others,  notably  against 
allies  of  ours.  Long  ago  they  had  made  preparations 
in  expectation  of  war.  Else  why  did  they  seduce  from 
her  allegiance  Corcyra,  which  they  still  hold  in  defiance 
of  us;  and  why  are  they  blockading  Potidea,  the  lat- 
ter a  most  advantageous  post  for  the  command  of  the 
Thracian  peninsula,  the  former  a  great  naval  power, 
which  might  have  assisted  the  Peloponnesians.  .  .  . 
We  ought  not  now  to  be  considering  whether  we  are 
wronged,  but  how  we  are  to  be  revenged.  The  ag- 
gressor is  not  now  threatening,  he  is  advancing." 

At  the  time  this  matter  was  brought  before  the  as- 
sembly, an  Athenian  embassy  happened  to  be  in  Sparta 
on  other  business,  and  having  heard  the  indictment 
launched  against  their  city  by  the  Corinthians,  they 
asked  permission  to  lay  before  the  assembly  some  ex- 
planations to  prevent  the  Spartans  from  being  misled. 
The  request  was  granted.  The  ambassador  then  re- 
counted to  the  assembly  the  glories  which  Athens  had 
achieved  in  the  Persian  Wars,  and  how  their  army 
and  navy  had  saved  Hellas  from  Darius  and  Xerxes. 
He  reminded  them  also  that  the  Athenian  empire  was 
not  acquired  by  force,  and  finally  suggested  that  the 
Lacedaemonians  should  not  be  induced  to  enter  into 
a  protracted  tedious  and  expensive  war  at  the  insti- 
gation of  those  who  were  not  themselves  Lacedaemo- 
nians. 

Archidamus,  the  Spartan  King,  thought  that  the 
Lacedaemonians  should  not  be  too  hasty  in  the  matter, 


[ 


S8o 


MIUTAET   ANNALS   OF   GREECE 


but  should  first  complete  their  preparations  to  enable 
them  to  wage  the  war  successfully.  When  Archidamus 
had  finished  his  address,  one  of  the  Spartan  Ephors, 
Sthenelaidas,  arose  to  reply  to  the  Athenian.  He  con- 
fessed, he  said,  that  he  did  not  know  what  the  long 
speeches  of  the  Athenians  meant,  but  declared  that  if 
they  behaved  well  in  the  Persian  Wars,  and  were  now 
behavmg  badly,  they  ought  to  be  punished  twice  over, 
because  they  were  once  good  men  and  have  become  bad. 
A  vote  was  then  taken,  and  the  Spartans  determined  to 
stand  by  their  allies.  They  accordingly  voted  that  the 
treaty  had  been  violated. 

An  embassy  was  sent  to  Athens,  and  the  latter  were 
informed  that  it  was  the  judgment  of  the  Lacedemo- 
nians and  their  alHes  that  the  treaty  had  been  violated. 
Ihey  were  further  notified  that  if  they  would  avert 
war,  they  must  raise  the  siege  of  Potidea,  a  colony  of 
Corcyra;  they  must  restore  to  .Egina  her  independ- 
ence; and  lastly,  that  they  must  at  once  rescind  the 
decree  whereby  the  Megarians  were  excluded  from  the 
markets  of  Athens,  and  the  harbors  of  the  Athenian 
empire. 

To  these  demands  the  Athenians  refused  to  listen. 
One  of  the  reasons  assigned  for  the  refusal  of  Athens 
to  rescind  her  decree  involved  the  misconduct  of  the 
Megarians.  The  charge  against  them  was  that  they 
had  tilled  the  holy  ground  and  the  neutral  borderland, 
and  had  received  and  protected  the  runaway  slaves,  who 
had  escaped  from  their  Athenian  masters  and  fled  to 
Megara.     So  the  ambassadors  departed. 

A  second  embassy  was  sent  to  Athens  some  time  after. 
They  wanted  to  know  whether  Athens  desired  peace  or 
war,  and  declared  the  conditions  on  which  peace  could 
be  had.  The  message  was  as  follows :  "  The  Lacedemo- 
nians desire  to  maintain  peace,  and  peace  there  may 
be  if  you  will  restore  independence  to  the  Hellenese." 

The  time  had  now  come  for  decisive  action.     The 


WAE   SPEECH    OP   PERICLES  58 1 

Public  Assembly  convened  on  the  hill  of  the  Pnyx  and 
discussed  the  issues  of  peace  and  war.  Some  favored 
war.  Others  declared  that  the  decree  excluding 
Megara  from  the  markets  of  Athens  should  be  rescinded 
and  not  be  permitted  to  stand  in  the  way  of  peace. 
Then  Pericles  arose  to  address  the  Assembly.  He  was 
the  most  conspicuous  man  in  Hellas,  the  greatest  orator 
of  his  age,  and  the  most  influential  man  in  Athens. 
The  words  which  fell  from  his  lips  on  that  occasion 
were  to  decide  the  destiny  of  his  country.  In  his 
speech  were  bound  up  the  issues  of  life  and  death,  of 
war  and  peace.  All  seemed  to  realize  as  Pericles  stood 
before  them  that  when  he  descended  from  the  bema 
and  resumed  his  seat,  the  fate  of  Athens  would  have 
been  decided. 

All  were  eager  to  hear  the  first  words  of  the  address 
of  this  distinguished  man.  He  began  with  great  de- 
liberation. "Athenians,"  he  said,  "I  say,  as  I  have 
always  said,  that  we  must  never  yield  to  the  Pelopon- 
nesians,  although  I  know  that  men  are  persuaded  to  go 
to  war  in  one  temper  of  mind,  and  act  when  the  time 
comes  in  another,  and  that  their  resolutions  change 
with  the  change  of  fortune.  .  .  .  The  movement  of 
events  is  often  as  wayward  and  incomprehensible  as  the 
course  of  human  thought ;  and  this  is  why  we  ascribe 
to  chance  whatever  belies  our  calculation."  ^ 

These  were  the  opening  sentences  in  the  great  speech 
of  Pericles,  that  lit  the  spark  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  a  conflict  which  was  to  continue  for  a  quarter  of 
a  century,  after  the  speaker  has  passed  from  the  scenes 
of  earth.  He  made  a  great  argument  on  the  merits 
of  the  controversy.  His  first  point  seems  to  be  conclu- 
sive that  Sparta  was  in  the  wrong.  "  The  treaty  says," 
he  argued,  "  that  when  diff*erences  arise,  the  two  parties 
shall  refer  them  to  arbitration,  and  in  the  meantime 


*  Thucyd.  ii.,  7. 


582 


MIUTABY   ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


both  are  to  retain  what  they  have.  But  for  arbitration 
they  never  ask;  and  when  it  is  offered  by  us  they  re- 
fuse it.  They  want  to  redress  their  grievances  by 
arms  and  not  by  argument,  and  now  they  come  to  us 
using  the  language,  no  longer  of  expostulation,  but  of 
command."  With  regard  to  the  demands  made  on 
Athens,  as  to  Potidea,  and  the  Megarian  decree,  Per- 
icles said  that  "  if  you  yield  to  them  in  a  small  matter, 
they  will  think  that  you  are  afraid,  and  will  immedi- 
ately dictate  some  more  oppressive  condition;  but  if 
you  are  firm,  you  will  prove  to  them  that  they  must 
treat  you  as  their  equals.  .  .  .  Any  claim,  the  smallest 
as  well  as  the  greatest,  imposed  on  a  neighbor  and  an 
equal  when  there  has  been  no  legal  awards  can  mean 
nothing  but  slavery." 

Finally  Pericles  suggested  the  answer  to  be  given 
by  the  Athenians  to  the  demands  of  the  ambassadors. 
"  Tell  them,"  he  said,  "  that  we  will  not  exclude  the 
Megarians  from  our  markets  and  harbors,  if  the  Lace- 
daemonians will  not  exclude  foreigners,  whether  our- 
selves or  our  allies,  from  Sparta;  for  the  treaty  no 
more  forbids  the  one  than  the  other.  Tell  them  that 
we  will  concede  independence  to  the  cities,  if  they  were 
independent  when  we  made  the  treaty,  and  as  soon  as 
the  Lacedaemonians  allow  their  subject  states  to  be 
governed  as  they  choose,  not  for  the  interest  of  Lace- 
daemon,  but  for  their  own.  Also  that  we  are  willing 
to  offer  arbitration  according  to  the  treaty.  Tell  them 
finally  that  we  do  not  want  to  begin  war,  but  if  at- 
tacked, we  intend  to  defend  ourselves." 

This  answer,  he  said,  was  just  and  would  comport 
with  the  dignity  of  Athens.  The  peroration  of  the 
great  orator  and  statesman,  advocating  armed  resist- 
ance to  her  enemies  is  as  follows :  "  All  must  be  aware, 
however,  that  war  will  come.  The  more  willing  we  are 
to  accept  it,  the  less  ready  will  our  enemies  be  to  lay 
hands  on  us.    Remember  that  where  dangers  are  great- 


IMMEDIATE    CAUSES   OF    THE    WAE  583 

est,  there  the  greatest  honors  are  to  be  won  by  men  and 
states.  Our  fathers,  when  they  withstood  the  Persian, 
had  no  such  empire  as  we  have.  What  little  they  had, 
they  forsook.  They  repelled  the  barbarian  and  raised 
us  to  our  present  height  of  greatness,  not  by  good 
fortune,  but  by  wisdom ;  not  by  power,  but  by  courage. 
Let  us  be  worthy  of  them,  emulate  their  example,  and 
resist  our  enemies  with  all  our  might,  that  we  may  hand 
down  our  empire  to  posterity  unimpaired." 

The  influence  of  Pericles  was  irresistible.  The  As- 
sembly voted  as  he  had  suggested,  and  adopted  and  ap- 
proved in  detail  his  answer  to  the  Lacedaemonians. 
Having  received  the  answer  of  the  Athenians,  the  am- 
bassadors departed  and  came  no  more.  It  is  clear, 
therefore,  that  the  affair  at  Epidamnus,  the  conduct  of 
the  Athenians  at  Potidea,  and  their  interference  at  the 
battle  of  Sybota,  in  the  Corcyrian  War,  were  the  direct 
and  immediate  causes  of  the  Peloponnesian  War.  Hos- 
tilities, however,  did  not  begin  until  after  the  surprise 
at  Plataea,  at  the  end  of  March,  B.  C.  431,  the  year 
following  the  departure  of  the  Lacedaemonian  ambassa- 
dors from  Athens. 

This  protracted  intestine  struggle  which  destroyed 
the  liberties  and  independence  of  Greece,  covered  a 
period  of  twenty-seven  years,  which  may  be  divided  into 
three  periods.  First,  from  the  surprise  at  Plataea,  B.  C. 
431  to  the  Peace  of  Nicias,  B.  C.  421.  Strictly  speak- 
ing this  period  includes  the  Peloponnesian  War  proper, 
because  it  was  fought  directly  between  Sparta  and 
Athens,  and  their  respective  allies.  Second,  the  Sicilian 
War,  B.  C.  415-413.  This  period  embraces  the  expe- 
dition sent  out  by  Athens  to  take  Syracuse,  and  sub- 
jugate Sicily  and  the  West.  It  was  a  foreign  war  for 
the  aggrandizement  of  Athens  and  the  extension  of  her 
empire.  Sparta  lent  aid  to  Sicily  and  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  Alcibiades,  who  had  been  banished  by  the  Athe- 
nians, sent  to   Syracuse  Gillypus,  her  ablest  general, 


584 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


equal  in  skill  and  energy  to  Brasidas,  under  whose  able 
leadership  the  Athenians  were  overwhelmingly  de- 
feated. Third,  the  Decelean  War,  B.  C.  413-404,  so 
called  because  Sparta  established  a  permanent  fortress 
at  Decelea  in  Attica,  about  fifteen  miles  north  of 
Athens.  This  period  extends  from  the  destruction  of 
the  Athenian  fleet  at  Syracuse  to  the  capture  of  her 
squadrons  in  the  Hellespont  at  ^Egospotami,  B.  C. 
405,  and  the  surrender  of  Athens  to  Lysander,  the 
Spartan,  B.  C.  404. 

After  the  defeat  and  destruction  of  the  Athenian  ex- 
pedition at  Syracuse,  in  which  Athens  was  opposed  by 
Sparta,  with  the  aid  of  Persia  and  Sicily,  Sparta,  as 
has  been  observed,  at  the  instigation  of  Alcibiades, 
practically  carried  the  war  into  Attica  by  building  a 
strong  fortress  at  Deceleia.  The  empire  which  Athens 
sought  to  extend  by  conquests  in  the  west,  she  was  now 
called  upon  to  maintain  against  the  combined  forces 
of  Europe  and  Asia.  The  contest  was  confined  chiefly 
to  a  naval  war,  because  the  dominion  of  Athens  which 
she  now  strove  to  maintain  embraced  her  insular  em- 
pire, including  practically  the  islands  of  the  ^Egean 
sea,  and  the  coast  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  Thrace, 
and  the  Hellespont.  It  was  the  final  struggle  for 
the  integrity  of  the  maritime  empire  of  Athens, 
and  resulted  in  its  overthrow,  and  the  supremacy  of 
Sparta. 

The  war  was  declared  by  Sparta,  as  has  been  shown, 
on  the  part  of  the  Peloponnesian  confederacy  against 
Athens,  and  its  allies,  chiefly  through  the  influence  of 
Corinth  and  Megara.  The  former  complained  that 
Athens  in  violation  of  the  Thirty  Years*  Peace  made 
after  the  reduction  of  Euboea  as  a  result  of  the  battle 
of  CEnophyta  (q.  v.),  had  furnished  assistance  to  the 
island  of  Corcyra  in  its  war  agaiinst  Corinth,  the 
mother  city,  in  the  naval  battle  of  Sybota  (q.  v.).  The 
latter   claimed   that    Megarian    ships    were    forbidden 


MOTIVES    OF    SPARTA  egc 

Athenian  ports,  and  its  commerce  excluded  from  the 
markets  of  Attica. 

The  real  cause  of  the  war,  generally  speaking,  was 
jealousy  aroused  among  contiguous  cities  and  states, 
by  the  growmg  power  of  Athens.     The  motive  which 
finally  mduced  Sparta  to  enlist  with  the  Peloponnesian 
States  m  a  Confederacy  against  Athens  was  her  envy 
and  hatred  of  Athens,  now  the  head  of  the  Confederacy 
of  Delos,  through  which  she  had  become  the  foremost 
commercial  and  maritime  power  in  the  world.     After 
the  retirement  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  from  Europe, 
which  resulted  from  their  disastrous  defeats  at  Mara- 
thon, Plataea,  Mycale,  and  on  the  Eurymedon  in  Pam- 
phyha,  Athens  began  to  plant  new  colonies  in  Thrace, 
Asia  Mmor,  and  the  islands  of  the  ^gean  to  increase 
her  navy,  and  wall  in  her  city.     She  was  the  better  able 
to  do  this  after  Sparta  dropped  out  and  declined  after 
the  recall  of  Pausanias  to  cooperate  in  the  Confederacy 
of  Delos  (q.  v.).     Thucydides  tells  us  that  the  Lace- 
demonians  voted   that   the   truce    (the   Thirty   Years' 
Peace)   had  been  broken,  and  that  war  should  be  de- 
clared,   not    so    much    because    they    had    been    con- 
vmced  by  the  arguments  of  the  allies,  but  because  they 
were  afraid  that  the  Athenians  might  attain  to  greater 
power,  seeing  that  many  parts  of  Greece  were  already 
tributary  to  her.     After  the  battle  of  GEnophyta,  be- 
fore  the    Thirty   Years'    Peace   had   been   negotiated, 
Athens,  through  its  supremacy  in  the  Confederacy  of 
Delos,  had  achieved  dominion  on  the  sea,  and  Sparta 
feared  she  would  also  achieve  supremacy  on  land,  and 
build  up  a  land  empire  which  would  make  her  supreme, 
both  on  land  and  sea. 

Thucydides  has  carefully  catalogued  the  allies  of 
Athens  and  Sparta,  in  the  Peloponnesian  War.  When 
the  names  of  the  independent  Cities  and  States  are 
reviewed,  the  student  can  form  a  correct  idea  of  the 
character  and  extent  of  the  internal  disputes  which  rent 


H' 


ii 


586 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


1»RINCIPAL    EVENTS    OP    THE    WAR 


587 


Greece  for  years,  and  cost  her  her  independence  and 
her  liberties.  The  roster  of  the  allies  of  Athens  and 
Sparta  are  stated  by  Thucydides,*  as  follows  : 

"  Each  party  had  the  following  states  in  alliance 
when  they  set  to  the  war.  The  allies  of  the  Lacedae- 
monians were  these:  all  the  Peloponnesians  within  the 
Isthmus,  except  the  Argives  and  Achseans  (these  were 
in  friendship  with  both  parties;  and  the  Pellenians 
were  the  only  people  of  the  Ach«eans  that  joined  in  the 
war  at  first,  though  afterward  all  of  them  did).  With- 
out the  Peloponnese,  the  Megarians,  Locrians,  Boeo- 
tians, Phocians,  Ambraciots,  Leucadians,  and  Anacto- 
rians.  Of  these,  the  states  which  furnished  a  navy  were 
the  Corinthians,  Megarians,  Sicyonians,  Pellenians, 
Eleans,  Ambraciots  and  Leucadians.  Those  that  sup- 
plied cavalry  were  the  Boeotians,  Phocians,  and  Lo- 
crians. The  rest  of  them  sent  infantry.  This  then  was 
the  Lacedaemonian  confederacy. 

"  That  of  the  Athenians  comprehended  the  Chians, 
Lesbians,  Plataeans,  the  Messenians  at  Naupactus,  the 
greater  part  of  the  Acarnanians,  the  Corcyrians,  the 
Zacynthians;  also  some  other  states  which  were  tribu- 
tary among  the  following  nations;  as  the  maritime 
parts  of  Caria,  and  Doris  adjacent  to  it,  Ionia,  the 
Hellespont,  the  Greek  towns  (Thraceward)  ;  the  islands, 
which  were  situated  between  the  Peloponnese  arid  Crete, 
toward  the  east,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  Cyclades  except 
Melos  and  Thera.  Of  these,  the  Chians,  Lesbians,  and 
Corcyrians  furnished  a  naval  force,  the  rest  of  them 
infantry  and  money.  Such  was  the  confederacy  on 
each  side,  and  their  resources  for  the  war." 

The  principal  events  in  this  momentous  struggle  are 
embraced  in  the  military  annals  of  the  time  and  may  be 
traced  in  chronological  order.  The  first  period  begins 
with  the  surprise  of  Platasa  by  the  Thebans,  B.  C.  431. 


I'his  affair  occurred  before  war  was  declared,  while 
the  states  were  enjoying  peaceful  intercourse  visiting 
without  a  herald.  Then  follows  the  fall  of  Mitylene 
B.  C.  427 ;  capture  of  Plataea  by  the  Spartans  B.  C. 
427 ;  capture  of  Sphacteria  by  the  Athenians  B.  C.  425 ; 
defeat  of  Athens  at  Amphipolis  B.  C.  422.  Second 
Period.  Argive  league  defeated  by  Spartans  at  Man- 
tinea  B.  C.  418;  Melian  Massacre  (B.  C.  416);  Athe- 
nian defeat  at  Syracuse  B.  C.  413.  Third  Period.  Cal- 
licrates,  the  Spartan  admiral,  defeated  by  the  Athe- 
nians off  the  southern  promontory  of  Lesbos  near  the 
island  of  Arginusae,  B.  C.  406 ;  capture  of  the  Athenian 
fleet  by  Lysander  at  ^gospotami  B.  C.  405. 


■If- 


^Thucyd.  ii,  9. 


CHAPTER    XLI 

PERICLES  —  ANCESTRY  —  EDUCATION  —  EARLY    PUB- 
LIC CAREER 

ERICLES  was  of  royal  lineage  on  both  sides 
of  his  house.  He  could  trace  his  ancestors 
to  Theseus,  mythical  hero  of  Hellas  and  first 
king  of  Athens.  From  his  father  Xanthip- 
pus,  victor  at  Mycale  and  hero  of  Sestus,  he 
inherited  the  blood  of  Pisistratus,  a  direct  lineal  de- 
scendant of  Pisistratus,  son  of  Nestor,  king  of  Pylus 
—  the  Nestor  renowned  for  his  wisdom  and  sagacity, 
whom  Homer  describes  as  one  of  the  wisest  heads  among 
the  Greeks  who  accompanied  Agamemnon  on  his  expe- 
dition to  Asia. 

From  his  mother  Agarista,  and  granddaughter  of 
Megacles,  and  also  of  the  great  Clisthenes  who  estab- 
lished the  ten  Attic  tribes,  defeated  the  followers  of 
Pisistratus,  and  established  the  Athenian  democracy, 
he  inherited  the  blood  of  Alcmaeon,  the  last  perpetual 
archon,  and  direct  lineal  descendant  of  Codrus,  the 
last  King  of  Athens.  He  was  of  the  tribe  of  Aca- 
mantis  and  of  the  deme  of  Cholargus.  ' 

Thus  in  the  ancestors  of  Pericles  were  represented 
the  Alcmaeonidae  and  the  Pisistratidae,  two  of  the 
wealthiest  and  most  influential  families  of  the  Athe- 
nian Eupatridae,  whose  names  from  the  time  of  Solon 
to  the  expulsion  of  Hippias  were  conspicuous  in  the 
struggle  for  power  in  Athens.  But  to  the  advantage 
of  noble  birth  often  attach  the  disadvantages  which 
arise  from   political  intrigue,  which  not  infrequently 

588 


DATE    OF    HIS    BIRTH  589 

result  in  murder  and  intestine  war.  The  Alcmseonidae, 
when  Megacles  was  the  head  of  his  house  and  archon 
of  Athens,  suffered  for  their  perfidy  in  the  affair  of 
Cylon,  during  a  political  insurrection  late  in  the  seventh 
century  (B.  C.  612)  and  were  detested  as  accursed, 
having  received  tokens  of  the  divine  displeasure,  visited 
upon  them  for  their  acts  of  perfidy  and  impiety  for  the 
slaughter  of  their  enemies  whom  they  induced  to  leave 
their  place  of  refuge  in  the  sacred  temples  on  promise 
of  immunity.  This  stain  upon  his  house  was  revived 
against  Pericles,  by  his  enemies  and  by  those  who 
sought  to  avert  war  with  the  Peloponnesians,  nearly 
two  centuries  after  the  curse  was  pronounced,  and  had 
been  forgotten.  So  strong  were  the  hatreds  and  super- 
stitious prejudices,  even  in  the  golden  age  of  Pericles, 
that  it  required  all  the  abihties  and  superior  intelli- 
gence of  the  great  orator  and  statesman  to  prevent  the 
memory  of  the  old  curse  upon  his  ancestors  from  caus- 
ing his  political  downfall,  and  wresting  from  him  the 
reins  of  power. 

The  precise  date  of  the  birth  of  Pericles  is  uncer- 
tain. The  probabilities  '^re  that  he  was  bom  B.  C.  499. 
He  died  in  the  autur  H.  C.  429,  two  years  and  six 
months  after  the  surprise  at  Platasa,  which  event  oc- 
curred about  March  31,  B.  C.  432.  It  is  said  that  he 
lived  to  be  seventy  years  old.  If  this  conjecture  as 
to  his  age  is  correct,  he  must  have  been  born  B.  C. 
499,  nine  years  before  the  battle  of  Marathon.  There 
was  very  little  difference  between  the  ages  of  Cimon 
and  Pericles,  his  great  rival.  It  is  probable  that  Cimon 
was  the  eldest  by  perhaps  three  years,  he  having  been 
born  presumably  B.  C.  603.  The  assumption  that  the 
great  statesman  was  born  B.  C.  499  rests  wholly  upon 
the  conjecture  that  he  was  seventy  years  of  age  when 
he  died.  Some  authorities  fix  the  date  of  his  birth  four 
or  five  years  later,  B.  C.  494  or  493.  These  dates  are 
predicated  upon  the  assumption  that  at  the  time  of  his 


ni 


590 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


ANAXAGORAS 


591 


death  Pericles  was  not  more  than  sixty-four  or  sixty- 
five.  But  as  there  is  no  clear  statement  by  any  au- 
thority showing  his  age,  the  exact  date  of  his  birth 
must  rest  on  conjecture. 

By  reason  of  the  wealth  and  social  position  of  his 
family,  Pericles  received  all  the  advantages  of  the 
schools.  He  was  instructed  in  every  department  of 
knowledge.  He  was  trained  in  science  and  philosophy, 
in  the  arts,  became  proficient  in  music  and  excelled 
in  polite  learning  and  in  all  the  accomplishments  of  his 
age.  According  to  Plutarch  he  was  taught  natural 
philosophy  by  Zeno,  who  came  to  Athens  from  Elea,  in 
Italy,  with  his  preceptor  Parmenides.  The  latter 
taught  that  being,  or  animate  existence,  was  birthless 
and  deathless,  a  phase  of  the  doctrine  of  immortality. 
Zeno  advanced  the  theory  of  the  inconceivability  of 
motion,  and  declared  that  it  was  an  illusion  of  the 
senses,  as  well  as  the  real  existence  of  the  phenomenal 
world.  Zeno  was  greatly  admired  by  Pericles  by  reason 
of  his  skill  as  a  dialectician.  Aristotle  refers  to  him 
as  the  father  of  logic.  In  public  debate,  those  who  con- 
tended with  Zeno,  presently  found  themselves  con- 
fronted by  the  horns  of  a  dilemma  from  which  it  was 
often  impossible  to  escape.  Pericles  was  instructed  in 
music  by  Damon.  His  teachings,  however,  included  a 
wider  scope  than  that  of  a  mere  musician.  He  taught 
political  philosophy,  and  Plutarch  says  that  he  trained 
Pericles  for  his  political  contests  "  as  a  trainer  pre- 
pares an  athlete  for  the  games."  Another  of  his  pre- 
ceptors was  an  Ionian  Greek,  Anaxagoras  of  Claz- 
omenae,  a  city  not  far  from  Smyrna,  who  lived  many 
years  in  Athens.  He  must  have  attended  the  lectures 
of  Anaxagoras  during  early  manhood,  as  preceptor  and 
pupil  were  nearly  of  the  same  age,  assuming  that  An- 
axagoras was  bom  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  century, 
about  500  B.  C.  How  much  Anaxagoras  may  have 
imbibed  of  the  teachings  of  the  great  Pythagoras  of 


Samos  we  do  not  know.     Nor  have  we  any  means  of 
finding  out  to  what  extent  he  taught  the  doctrine  of 
the  transmigration  of  souls  advanced  by  this  illustri- 
ous man.     Pythagoras  died  about  seven  years  before 
the  battle  of  Marathon  B.  C.  497,  when  Anaxagoras 
was  but  three  years  of  age.    It  will  be  profitable,  in  this 
connection,  to  inquire  as  to  the  state  of  learning,  and 
the  development  of  philosophy  and  science  in  the  time 
of  Pericles,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Anax- 
agoras was  persecuted  by  the  enemies  of  the  former 
and  because  he  was  guilty  of  no  crime  known  to  the  law 
so  far  as  his  accusers  could  discover,  he  was  indicted 
at  the  instigation  of  Diopithes  who,  at  the  time  of- 
ficiated in  the  temple  of  Erechtheus,  and  was  charged 
with  impiety  and  disregard  for  the  polytheistic  religion 
taught  by  the  priests.     This  charge  of  infidelity  prob- 
ably suggested  itself,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  poly- 
theism was  altogether  repugnant  to  the  idea,  that  the 
origin  of  the  universe,  was  the  conception  of  one  su- 
preme intellect,  a  doctrine,  it  is  said,  which  was  first 
advanced  by  Anaxagoras.     His  views  in  this  regard 
are  in  some  respects  in  harmony  with  the  doctrine  of 
monotheism  taught  by  the  Israelites,  although  we  have 
no  evidence  that  Anaxagoras  had  any  knowledge  what- 
ever of  the  pentateuch,  or  the  early  books  of  the  old 
testament. 

Pythagoras  imbibed  his  inspiration  from  Thales  of 
Miletus,  one  of  the  seven  sages  of  Greece  (B.  C.  640- 
5^6),  and  from  his  pupil  Anaximander.  Thales  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  in  scientific  investigation  and  it  is 
said  that  he  foretold  the  eclipse  of  the  sun  which  oc- 
curred a  year  after  it  was  predicted,  and  which  inter- 
rupted the  battle  of  the  Halys  fought  about  B.  C.  603, 
in  the  time  of  Nebuchadnezzar  between  the  Medes  and 
Lydians,  who  at  high  noon,  seeing  night  suddenly  suc- 
ceeding day,  desisted  from  fighting. 

Pythagoras,   in   his   investigations,   sought   for   the 


592 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


causes  governing  the  laws  of  nature,  and  the  results  of 
natural  phenomena.  He  conceived  a  scientific  theory 
as  to  eclipses,  as  to  meteors  and  rainbows,  and  the 
movement  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  His  notion  in  re- 
gard to  the  sun  was  that  inasmuch  as  he  regarded  it  as 
the  source  of  heat,  it  was  composed  of  a  mass  of  blazing 
metal.  Indeed  it  is  claimed  that  Pythagoras  and  his 
disciples  worked  out  the  theory  of  the  rotundity  of  the 
earth,  and  taught  that  is  was  a  globe  which  hung  self- 
balanced  in  space,  and  that  it  moved  in  harmony  with 
other  planets  round  a  central  luminary.  Copernicus, 
it  is  said,  evolved  his  heliocentric  theory  from  the  sug- 
gestions which  he  gleaned  from  the  speculations  of 
Pythagoras  and  his  disciples,  although  the  Pythago- 
reans did  not  distinctly  teach  the  doctrine  that  the 
sun  was  the  centre  of  our  planetary  system. 

Anaxagoras  taught  that  the  heavenly  bodies  orig- 
inaUy  formed  part  of  the  earth,  but  were  torn  from 
it  by  some  extraordinary  convulsion  of  nature,  and 
thrown  into  space.  He  accounted  for  their  appearance 
m  the  heavens  on  the  theory  that  they  became  globes 
of  fire,  being  ignited  in  consequence  of  their  rapid 
motion.  Plutarch,  however,  does  not  hint  that  Anax- 
agoras Uught  the  mystical  doctrine  of  metempsycho- 
sis, or  the  transmigration,  and  the  immortality  of  the 
soul  taught  by  Pythagoras.  This  belief  has  been  as- 
sociated with  the  idea  of  the  kinship  of  all  living  be- 
ings. 

Anaxagoras  must  have  learned  from  what  Pythag- 
oras taught,  in  connection  with  the  study  of  mathe- 
matics and  astronomy,  the  theory  of  numbers,  and  their 
correlation,  as  for  example  that  two  is  but  the  relation 
of  one  to  one.  The  Samian  philosopher  taught  numer- 
ical symbolism,  and  declared  that  in  the  original  one, 
all  numbers  are  contained.  This  teaching  forms  the 
basis  to-day  of  the  modern  atomic  theory,  that  all  mat- 
ter IS  composed  of  ultra-microscopic  particles,  as  devel- 


PYTHAGOEAS 


593 


oped  by  the  electron  hypothesis  which  originated  with 
the  study  of  electric  discharges  through  highly  rarified 
gases.  Modem  science  declares  that  atoms  of  matter 
are  composed  of  electrons,  a  doctrine  too  abstruse,  to 
be  comprehended  by  ordinary  mortals.  The  measure 
of  an  electron  is  almost  inconceivable.  As  compared 
with  an  atom,  an  electron  is  like  a  pin's  head  beside 
the  dome  of  the  national  capitol.  From  the  teaching 
of  Pythagoras,  Anaxagoras  doubtless  became  familiar 
with  the  idea  of  the  harmony  of  numbers,  as  applied 
to  the  harmony  which  prevails  throughout  the  universe 
—  laws  assisting  laws  which  are  inter-dependent  — 
whereby  perfection  results  —  perfection  as  the  antith- 
esis of  chaos,  which  eliminates  chance,  the  offspring 
of  confusion.  This  sublime  doctrine  of  Pythagoras  has 
been  poetically  described  as  the  rhythm  of  the  universe, 
the  music  of  the  spheres.  This  conception  leads  to  the 
conclusion  that  chaos  is  impossible  because  anarchy  can- 
not exist,  where  law  is  supreme. 

While  Anaxagoras  in  some  respects  may  not  be  con- 
sidered so  remarkable  a  man  as  Pythagoras,  he  was  a 
great  thinker,  and  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  on 
account  of  his  extraordinary  gifts,  and  the  advance 
he  made  in  solving  some  of  the  mysteries  of  natural 
laws.  Indeed,  it  is  said  he  was  the  first  to  discard 
boldly  every  vestige  of  superstition  with  regard  to  the 
origin  of  matter  and  the  creation  of  the  universe.  He 
denied  that  the  world  came  into  existence  by  chance,  or 
by  force  or  necessity.     He  believed  that 

"  No  atoms,  casually  together  hurled, 
Could  ere  produce  so  beautiful  a  world." 

He  taught  that  there  was  a  first  great  cause,  a  su- 
preme, sublime  intelligence,  which  caused  all  existing 
matter  to  spring  into  being,  and  ordered  the  law  of 
creation. 

Herodotus  tells  a  story  in  connection  with  Anaxago- 


I 


S94 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GRfiECfi 


ras  which  serves  to  ilhistrate  the  difference  in  that  age 
between   the  philosopher,   seeking  for   causes   and   the 
sorcerers,  the  soothsayers,  the  magicians,  and  the  seers 
who  claimed  to  be  able  to  interpret  dreams  and  visions, 
and  to  foretell  the  significance  of  portents  and  omens 
and  read  the  mysteries  attendant  upon  abnormal  con- 
ditions.     A   ram   was   discovered   which   had   but   one 
horn,  which  projected  from  its  forehead.     The  animal 
was  sent  as  a  present  to  Pericles,  who  consulted  Lam- 
pon,  a   soothsayer,   as   to   what   in   his  judgment   this 
phenomenon   indicated.      At   the   time   there   were   two 
parties  seeking  supremacy  in  Athens,  the  oligarchs,  led 
by   Thucydides   and   the   democrats   led  by   Ephialtes, 
with  whom  Pericles  shared  political  honors.     Lampon 
concluded  that  as  Pericles  had  come  into  possession  of 
the  ram  with  but  a  single  horn,  this  indicated  that  the 
two  political  parties   would  become   united,   and  that 
democracy  would  become  dominant.    When  Anaxagoras 
was  consulted  he  requested  permission  to  open  the  ram's 
skull,  in  order  to  demonstrate  the  hidden  cause  of  the 
animal's  deformity.     He  discovered  that  the  brain  was 
not  fully  developed,  but  was  congested  in  the  centre  of 
the  skull,  from  which  the  horn  grew.     The  scientific 
methods  employed  by   Anaxagoras   gained  distinction 
for  him,  but  when  in  the  course  of  time  the  oligarchs 
were   defeated    and    Thucydides    was    ostracised,    and 
Pencles  became  the  leader  of  the  democracy,  and  the 
head  of  the  state,  great  praise  was  accorded  to  Lampon 
as  a  man  wonderfully  endowed  with  pre-science. 

In  that  age  the  soothsayer  and  the  prophet  rather 
than  the  scientist  and  philosopher  were  consulted  by  the 
rulers  of  the  earth  to  interpret  visions  and  portents. 
Daniel  read  to  Nebuchadnezzar  the  interpretation  of 
his  dream,  foretold  his  humiliation  and  how  he  should 
become  bereft  of  reason  and  transformed  into  a  beast 
of  the  field.  He  read  also  to  Belshazzar  the  mural  in- 
scription written  by  an  invisible  hand  on  the  waUs  of 


RESEMBLANCE    TO    PISISTRATUS 


595 


his  palace.  At  a  later  period,  Daniel  saw  a  vision  in 
which  there  came  up  out  of  the  river  a  ram,  which  had 
two  horns.  Then  there  was  revealed  to  the  prophet  the 
spectacle  of  a  he  goat  which  came  out  of  the  west 
which  had  but.  one  horn  projecting  from  between  his 
eyes,  and  he  saw  the  impact  between  the  ram  and  the 
he  goat  and  witnessed  the  destruction  of  the  ram. 
When  the  goat  waxed  very  great  Daniel  saw  that  its 
horn  was  broken,  and  four  horns  came  from  it,  towards 
the  south  and  the  east  and  towards  the  pleasant  land. 
Thus  from  this  vision  of  the  ram  and  the  he  goat  was 
foretold  the  destruction  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Medes 
and  the  Persians  and  the  conquest  of  the  world  by 
Alexander  the  Great,  whom  the  best  authorities  agree 
was  personified  in  Daniel's  prophetic  vision  as  the  goat 
which  came  out  from  the  west. 

The  teachings  of  Anaxagoras,  whom  Pericles  ad- 
mired and  loved,  exerted  the  greatest  influence  upon  his 
character,  filled  his  mind  with  lofty  and  sublime 
thoughts,  which  colored  his  life  and  conduct,  and  were 
reflected  in  the  deliberate  action  and  the  calm  and  dig- 
nified bearing  of  his  pupil,  who  became  a  most  success- 
ful general,  an  accomplished  diplomat  and  statesman, 
and  one  of  the  great  orators  of  antiquity. 

In  his  youth,  Pericles,  on  account  of  his  remarkable 
resemblance  to  Pisistratus,  which  was  a  subject  of 
common  remark,  stood  in  fear  of  the  people,  lest  in 
case  he  entered  public  life,  his  enemies  might  use  this 
argument  to  secure  his  banishment,  and  vote  for  a 
decree  authorizing  his  ostracism  under  the  law.  For 
this  reason  it  is  said  he  first  devoted  himself  to  military 
matters.  It  was  not  until  after  the  death  of  Aristides, 
and  after  Themistocles  had  gone  into  exile,  that  he 
sought  political  advancement. 

Early  in  his  public  career,  he  became  active  in  con- 
nection with  Ephialtes,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  demo- 
cratic party  in  Athens.     At  this  time  Cimon,  the  hero 


il 


'  X 


596 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


WEALTH    OF  PERICLES 


I 
1'  ■' 

'4 


of  the  Eurymedon,  was  the  idol  of  the  people.     His 
military  fame  filled  the  world.     His  naval  victories  had 
enriched  Athens,  broadened  her  empire,  and  made  her 
the  most  powerful  city  of  the  age.     If  Pericles  would 
achieve  pohtical  distinction,  he  must  defeat  Cimon  and 
destroy  him  in  public  esteem.     Political  events  bring 
about  singular  historical  coincidents.     As  Xanthippus, 
the  father  of  Pericles,  had  ruined  lAIiltiades,  the  fathef 
of  Cimon  m  order  to  satisfy  his  ambition,  the  son  of 
Xanthippus   must   ruin   the   son   of  Miltiades.      Both 
could    not    succeed    in    Athenian    politics.      Although 
Ciinon  was  popular  with  the  masses,  and  was  prodigal 
of  his  hospitality,  and  his  gifts  to  the  poor,  he  had  no 
sympathy  with  those  who  sought  to  advance  popular 
government.     Politically  he  was  an  aristocrat  and  the 
leader  of  the  oligarchical  party.     He  believed  in  privi- 
lege and  the  supremacy  of  the  wealthy  classes  in  public 
affairs.     He  was  the  friend  and  apologist  of  the  Lace- 
daemonians, who  were  the  bitter  enemies  of  his  own  city. 
He  admired  the  Spartan  system  of  government,  and 
openly    advocated    the    Spartan    oligarchy    which    he 
seemed   to    regard    as   more   desirable    than    Athenian 
democracy,  as  established  by  Clisthenes,  and  strength- 
ened and  enlarged  by  Themistocles. 

From  what  has  been  said  by  Plutarch,  we  might  be 
justified  in  assuming  that  there  was  practically  no  dif- 
ference between  the  political  faith  of  Pericles  and  of 
Cimon.    The  writer  of  the  « lives  "  seems  to  infer  that 
although  Pencles  was  nominally  a  democrat  and  the 
advocate  of  popular  government,  yet  at  heart  he  was 
an  imperiahst,  and  had  no   real  sympathy  with  the 
democrats.      Circumstances,   however,   obliged   him   to 
choose  at  the  outset  of  his  career,  whether  he  would 
follow  his  convictions,  and  join  with  the  oligarchical 
party   led  by  Cimon,  or  advocate   the  cause   of  the    * 
democracy  and  lead  the  party  of  Ephialtes.    His  proud 
and  imperious  nature  would  not  permit  him  to  follow 


597 


where  Cimon  led.  He  opposed  the  great  authority  of 
Cimon,  and  thereby  became  the  advocate  and  leader  of 
the  democracy. 

Pericles  inherited  an   ample  fortune.     Part  of  his 
patrimony  consisted  of  a  country  place  just  outside 
the   city   walls,   on   which  were   erected  his   suburban 
residence  and  other  buildings  attached  to  his  estates. 
Archidamus,  king  of  Sparta,  and  Pericles,  before  the 
commencement  of  hostilities,  had  been  personal  friends, 
who  had  frequently  partaken  of  each  other's  hospital- 
ity.    When   the  former   approached  the  Attic  plain, 
with  an  army  of  60,000  men  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Peloponnesian  War,  after  the  inhabitants  had  deserted 
their  farms  and  country  places  and  flocked  within  the 
walls  of  the  city,  Pericles,  in  order  to  allay  prejudice 
against  himself,  when  the  Lacedaemonians  had  advised 
the  Athenians  to  expel  him  as  a  descendant  of  a  pol- 
luted family,  made  an  address  in  the  Public  Assembly 
in  which  he  declared  that  while  Archidamus  had  been 
his  personal  friend,  such  friendship  should  not  operate 
to  the  injury  of  his  countrymen;   and  that  if,  by  rea- 
son of  that  fact,  the  enemy  spared  his  lands  and  build- 
ings while  the  property  of  others  was  destroyed,  he 
would  take  pleasure  in  making  a  present  of  them  to  the 
Athenians.    He  therefore  urged  that  the  people  should 
not  harbor  distrust  or  suspicion  against  him  on  that 
account. 

Another  instance  from  which  some  idea  may  be  de- 
rived as  to  the  extent  of  his  fortune,  occurred  when 
Thucydides  and  his  party  charged  Pericles  with  waste- 
ful extravagance  of  the  public  moneys,  which  they 
said  he  squandered  on  temples  and  public  buildings. 
In  answer  to  the  charge,  at  a  public  meeting,  he  asked 
the  Assembly  if  in  their  opinion  they  thought  he  had 
laid  out  too  much  money  in  these  costly  edifices.  Ac- 
cording to  Plutarch  they  answered  that  he  was  spend- 
ing a  great  deal  too  much.     If  that  is  the  case,  an- 


598 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GR££C£ 


STATUS    OP    KLERUCH8 


599 


swered  Pericles,  "let  the  cost  be  charged  to  me  per- 
sonally, and  let  the  inscriptions  upon  the  buildings 
stand  in  my  name."  Then  we  are  told  that  the  fickle 
assembly  whether  out  of  surprise  at  the  liberality  and 
public  spirit  of  the  man,  or  out  of  emulation  for  the 
glory  of  the  works,  cried  out  bidding  him  spend  on,  and 
lay  out  what  he  thought  fit  from  the  public  purse,  and 
to  spare  no  cost  until  all  was  finished. 

Pericles  was  very  painstaking  and  methodical  and 
exercised  great  prudence  in  the  care  of  his  property 
and  the  management  of  his  estates.  The  supervision  of 
his  private  affairs  was  entrusted  to  a  slave  by  the  name 
of  Evangelus  whom  it  is  said  was  either  naturally 
gifted,  or  was  instructed  by  Pericles,  so  as  to  excel 
every  one  in  the  art  of  domestic  economy.  He  so 
managed  that  nothing  was  wasted.  The  crops  and  the 
entire  yield  of  his  fields  were  sold,  when  gathered,  and 
everything  necessary  to  supply  his  table  was  pur- 
chased in  the  open  market.  It  is  said  that  his  methodi- 
cal business  habits  were  not  pleasing  to  his  sons,  and 
that  the  female  contingent  in  the  houeshold  complained 
with  regard  to  his  method  of  housekeeping  because 
every  purchase  that  was  made  of  articles  for  use  in  the 
home  had  to  be  accounted  for  daily  with  the  greatest 
exactness.  All  receipts  and  disbursements  were  re- 
quired to  be  itemized  and  to  show  the  measure,  the 
number  of  items  and  the  price  of  the  divers  commodi- 
ties purchased.  This  thrift,  which  might  almost  be 
termed  parsimony,  on  the  part  of  the  great  states- 
man, may  account  in  a  measure  for  the  unfilial  conduct 
and  the  outward  disrespect  of  his  son  Xanthippus,  who 
rebelled  against  his  father's  authority  and  frequently 
abused  and  maligned  him  in  public. 

Another  matter  which  indicated  the  shrewdness  and 
foresight  of  Pericles  in  public  affairs,  after  he  came 
into  power  was  his  scheme  of  colonization.  In  order 
to  give  employment  and  to  furnish  means  to  many  citi- 


zens, he  procured  the  passage  of  a  law  providing  that 
every  year  at  least  sixty  triremes  manned  by  Athenian 
citizens  under  pay,  should  be  sent  on  cruises  abroad 
extending  over  a  period  of  eight  months.     In  order  to 
still  further  thin  out  the  population,  and  to  prevent 
the  city  from  becoming  overcrowded,  and  filled  with 
groups  of  idle  and  mischievous  meddlers,  he  devised  a 
system,  whereby  property  in  foreign  territories  should 
be  given  to  the  individual  colonists,  who  were  desig- 
nated out-citizens  or  "  cleruchs  "  or  as  the  word  in- 
dicates, "lot  owners."     The  law  provided  that  these 
colonists,  while  residing  abroad  should  not  lose  their 
rights   of   citizenship,   but   should   continue   to   be,   no 
matter  where  they  settled,  Athenian  citizens  and  part 
of  the  Athenian  electorate.     They  were  pledged  at  all 
times,  whether  at  home  or  abroad,  to  support  the  in- 
terests of  the  Athenian   empire.      Such  colonies   were 
planted  in  Euboea,  ^gina,  Naxos,  and  elsewhere  in  the 
^gean    soa,   in   Chalcis,   in   Thrace,   on   the   southern 
coast  of  the  Euxine,  in  the  Thracian  Chersonese,  at 
Thurii,  and  elsewhere  on  the  eastern  shores  of  Italy. 
The  latter  colony,  however,  was  Pan-Hellenic.     After 
the  destruction  of  Sybaris,  settlers  from  all  parts  of 
Greece  were  invited  to  locate  there.     On  its  site  a  new 
colony  was  founded,  with  a  mixed  population,  called 
New    Sybaris,    which    was    afterward   named    Thurii, 
whither  many  distinguished  Athenians  migrated,  among 
them   the   historian   Herodotus.      The   colony    on   the 
Thracian  Chersonese  was  conducted  thither  by  Pericles 
in  person   about  B.  C.  453.     He  took  with  him  one 
thousand  colonists  to  reinforce  and  protect  the  Greeks 
who  had  previously  settled  in  that  fertile  region.     This 
was  necessary  because  the  barbarous  Thracians  were 
accustomed  from  time  to  time  to  make  inroads  from 
the  north   entering   the   peninsula    across   the   narrow 
neck  of  land  which  joins  it  to  the  continent  inflicting 
grievous  injury  and  damage  to  the  settlers  by  making 


6oo 


MILITA&Y   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


continued  war  upon  them.  On  his  arrival  with  the  new 
colonists  Pericles  constructed  a  wall  from  sea  to  sea 
across  this  neck  of  land  at  its  narrowest  point,  which 
did  not  exceed  five  miles  in  width  from  the  Propontis 
to  the  Gulf  of  Melas,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  cities 
of  Cardia  on  the  west  coast  and  Pactya  on  the  east. 
He  constructed  forts  along  this  bulwark  and  thereby 
shut  out  the  Thracians  who  lay  all  about  the  Cherson- 
ese and  as  Plutarch  observes,  "  closed  the  door  against 
a  continual  and  grievous  war  "  and  rescued  the  Greek 
settlers  from  the  evils  of  a  predatory  population  both 
upon  and  within  its  borders. 

Before  the  decere  of  ostracism  against  Cimon  had 
been  revoked  and  before  the  latter  returned  to  Athens, 
Ephialtes,  the  incorruptible  and  fearless  leader  of  the 
democracy,  the  advocate  of  political  equality  before 
the  law,  was  assassinated  one  night  while  he  slept. 
The  oligarchical  party  had  been  defeated  in  their  ef- 
forts to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  Areopagus; 
they  had  been  unable  to  check  the  reforms  of  the  pro- 
gressive element.  The  advocates  of  class  privileges 
hated  Ephialtes  whom  they  could  not  control,  and  were 
unable  to  bribe.  They  blamed  him  as  the  author  of 
their  political  misfortunes,  and  regarded  him  as  the 
chief  instrument  by  which  their  loss  of  power  had  been 
accomplished.  They  determined  to  rid  Athens  of  this 
popular  leader  and  in  order  to  accomplish  their  wicked 
designs,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  employ  the  dagger  of 
an  assassin.  The  conspirators  had  no  difficulty  in  find- 
ing in  Boeotia  a  miscreant  ready  to  do  murder,  and 
secured  the  services  of  Aristodicus  of  Tanagra,  who 
assassinated  Ephialtes  in  his  bed. 

The  attempt  by  the  oligarchical  party  to  blame 
Pericles  for  the  murder,  alleging  that  he  was  moved 
by  jealousy,  and  envy  of  the  great  reputation  of  his 
rival,  failed  utterly.  The  real  assassin  was  known  and 
the  charges  being  palpably  false,  served  to  react  on 


ATHENS    IN    TIME    OF    PERICLES 


6oi 


those  who  made  them,  and  Pericles  became  the  most 
popular  man  in  Athens  and  the  chosen  leader  of  the 
democracy.  He  exerted  such  an  influence  that  the 
people  elected  him  strategus  annually,  as  long  as  he 
lived.  Pericles  practically  on  his  assumption  of  leader- 
ship became  the  State.  He  had  reached  the  command- 
ing position  attained  in  modern  times  by  Louis  XIV, 
when  he  declared  Vetat,  Vetat  c^est  mot. 

The  conduct  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  in  dismissing 
their  Athenian  allies,  sent  at  the  instigation  of  Cimon. 
to  aid  in  suppressing  the  revolt  of  the  Helots,  aftei 
the  earthquake  at  Sparta,  B.  C.  464,  caused  the  first 
open  quarrel  between  Sparta  and  Athens.  The  Athe- 
nians believed  that  the  true  reason  for  the  dismissal 
was  lack  of  confidence  in  the  loyalty  of  Athens,  espe- 
cially in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  became  known  in  some 
quarters  that  just  before  the  earthquake,  the  Lace- 
daemonians had  secretly  planned  to  invade  Attica  to 
aid  the  Thasians  in  their  struggle  for  independence. 
It  cost  Cimon  also  his  popularity,  and  as  has  been  ob- 
served resulted  in  his  banishment.  It  also  gave  Pericles 
the  opportunity  he  sought  to  supercede  the  great  ad- 
miral in  public  esteem  and  confidence. 


POSITION  OF  ATHENS  WHEN  PERICLES  CAME  INTO  POWER 

Athens,  at  the  time  Pericles  came  into  power,  was 
mistress  of  the  sea.  The  victorious  fleets  of  Cimon 
had  enlarged  her  conquests  and  extended  her  jurisdic- 
tion until  the  Attic  commonwealth  became  in  fact  a 
maritime  empire.  The  great  statesman  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Ephialtes,  now  bent  his  energies  to  establish  the 
supremacy  of  Athens  on  land.  His  purpose  was  to 
humiliate  and  completely  overshadow  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians, who  were  enlisting  allies  to  destroy  the  power 
of  her  Attic  rival,  and  defeat  her  ambition  for  su- 
premacy in  Hellas,  and  in  the  western  world.    Hostile 


6o2 


MILITAEY   ANNALS   OP    6E££CE 


ALLIANCES  NEGOTIATED    BY    PEEICLES 


603 


public  sentiment  occasioned  by  the  treatment  which  had 
been  accorded  the  Athenian  allies,  who,  at  the  behest 
of  Cimon  had  been  sent  to  Messenia  to  assist  the  re- 
duction of  Mount  Ithome,  gave  Pericles  the  opportu- 
nity which  he  sought  and  which  he  turned  to  his  ad- 
vantage to  further  advance  his  foreign   policy.     His 
first  move  was  to  induce  the  Public  Assembly  to  rescind 
the   anti-Persian   alliance  which  had  existed  since  the 
battle  of  Platasa,  and  to  enter  into  an   alliance  with 
Argos,  the  open  enemy  of  the  Lacedaemonians.     Ath- 
ens and  Argos  then  made  an  alliance  with  Thessaly 
in  the  north,  from  which  military  operations  could  be 
conducted  against  the  Boeotians,  who  were  allies  of  the 
Lacedaemonians.     The  Corinthians  at  this  time  were  at 
war  with  the  Megarians.     The  contest  involved  a  dis- 
pute as  to  the  boundaries  of  their  frontiers.     Pericles 
had  no  difficulty  in  making  an  alliance  with  Megara, 
in   view  of  the   fact   that   the  Megarians   were   hard 
pressed   by  their  enemies,   the  Corinthians.      This   ar- 
rangement was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  Athe- 
nians, because  it  gave  them  control  of  the  isthmus,  the 
gateway  into  the  Peloponnesus,  and  a  naval  base  at 
Nisea  and  Pega?,  on  the  Saronic  gulf  and  the  gulf  of 
Corinth  respectively.    From  the  former  city  their  allies 
built    two    parallel    walls    connecting    the    port    town 
directly  with  the  sea.     These  walls  were  of  great  stra- 
tegic   advantage    in     operations    against    the    island 
^gina.     The  Athenians  then  made  war  on  the  .^gini- 
tans.     In  this  contest  the  latter  and  their  Peloponne- 
sian  allies  were  defeated  with  a  loss  of  seventy  ships 
and  the  victorious  Athenians,  under  the  command  of 
Leocrates,    landed   their   forces    on    the   island.      The 
Corinthians     then     undertook     a     counter-movement 
against    the    Megarians,    hoping   that   the    Athenians 
would  thereby  be  obliged  to  raise  the  siege  of  ^gina. 
They  sought  to  take  advantage  of  the  fact  that  there 
were  no  available  troops  in  Athens  at  this  time  of  niiH- 


tary  age.  The  troops  not  engaged  in  JEgina.  were  ab- 
sent in  Egypt  to  assist  Inaros  in  his  revolt  against 
Artaxerxes.  They  did  not  consider  it  possible  that  the 
old  men  and  boys  who  remained  in  the  city  would  leave 
their  homes  to  undertake  military  operations  or  at- 
tempt an  aggressive  campaign  in  Megara.  In  this  they 
were  mistaken.  Those  under  military  age  and  those 
past  the  time  when  they  could  be  expected  to  perform 
military  service  became  enthusiastic.  They  volunteered 
to  march  into  Megara  to  assist  their  allies  to  drive  out 
the  Corinthians  and  were  led  to  battle  under  the  com- 
mand of  Myronides.  This  novel  campaign  resulted 
in  the  defeat  of  the  Corinthians,  and  Megara  was  again 
rid  of  her  enemies. 

The  object  of  these  alliances  negotiated  through  the 
influence  of  Pericles  was  obvious.  If  the  Athenians 
could  effectually  guard  the  isthmus,  and  command  the 
waters  that  washed  its  shores,  they  could  sail  round 
the  Peolponnesus  at  pleasure,  and  effectually  obstruct 
the  paths  and  defiles  in  the  Geranea  Mountains  through 
which  the  Lacedaemonians  were  obliged  to  enter  Attica. 
The  Lacedaemonians  soon  became  aware  of  the  disad- 
vantage at  which  they  were  placed  by  the  Athenian- 
Meearian  alliance.  Prior  to  this  alliance  the  Phocians 
undertook  a  campaign  against  Doris,  and  seized 
Citium,  a  Dorian  city  close  to  the  western  border  of 
Locris.  The  Dorians  appealed  to  their  kinsmen  in  the 
Peloponnesus  to  protect  them,  and  redress  the  wrong 
committed  by  the  Phocians.  The  Spartans,  from  their 
forces,  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Ithome,  sent  fifteen  hun- 
dred hoplites  of  their  own  and  ten  thousand  of  their 
allies  into  Phocis,  under  the  command  of  Nicomedes, 
son  of  Cleombrotus,  to  compel  the  Phocians  to  relin- 
quish their  conquest  and  restore  the  city  they  had 
taken  from  the  Dorians.  When  this  task  was  accom- 
plished and  the  Lacedaemonians  were  returning  through 
the  friendly   territory   of  Boeotia,  they   learned  that 


6o4 


MILTTAEY   ANNALS   OF    GREECE 


Megara  was  no  longer  their  ally,  and  that  the  passes 
through  the  Geranea  Mountains  were  strongly  guarded. 
Under  the  circumstances  the  Lacedaemonians  deemed  it 
wise  to  tarry  in  Boeotia.  They  encamped  in  the  ter- 
ritory of  Tanagra,  in  the  valley  of  the  Asopus,  close 
to  the  borders  of  Attica.  They  had  another  motive 
also  in  assembling  their  forces  so  close  to  the  border. 
They  were  privately  urged  by  the  leaders  of  the  oli- 
garchical party  in  Athens  to  cooperate  with  the  con- 
spirators, and  overthrow  the  power  of  the  democracy, 
and  put  an  end  to  the  building  of  the  long  walls,  being 
constructed  to  connect  the  port  towns  at  the  Piraeus 
and  Phalerum,  with  the  walls  of  Athens. 

The  Athenians,  suspecting  treachery  and  fearing  an 
attack  from  the  combined  forces  of  the  Peloponnesians 
and  Boeotians,  sent  an  army  under  Pericles,  who  had 
been  elected  a  strategus  to  engage  the  enemy.    The  re- 
sult was  the  battle  of  Tanagra,  where  Pericles,  though 
he  fought  bravely  and  displayed  extraordinary  cour- 
age in  the  field,  suffered  defeat  and  the  Lacedaemonians 
managed  to  return  through  Megara  to  their  own  coun- 
try.    This  engagement  proved  but  a  temporary   ob- 
stacle to  the  policy  of  Pericles  to  establish  the  suprem- 
acy of  Athens  in  central  and  northern  Greece.     To  re- 
gain the  prestige  they  had  lost  temporarily  at  Tana- 
gra, the  Athenians,  two  months  after  that  engagement, 
sent  an  army  across  the  Asopus  under  command  of 
Myronides  and  engaged  and  defeated  the  Boeotians  at 
CEnophyta.     The  contest  was  decisive  and  the  victory 
complete.      The    oligarchical    party    in    Boeotia    were 
driven  into  exile  and  Locris,  Boeotia  and  Phocis  be- 
came subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Athens.     The  Athe- 
nians took  hostages  also  from  the  Opuntian  Locrians 
on  the  gulf  of  Malis  and  northern  straits  of  Eubcea. 
In  view  of  the  Thessalian   alliance,  Athens  was  now 
supreme  in  northern  and  central  Greece.     Her  juris- 
diction extended  from  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  to  the  vale 


EXPEDITION   IN    GULF    OF    COEINTH 


60s 


of  Tempe,  the  Thermaic  gulf  and  the  borders  of  Mace- 
donia. 

Pericles  used  his  power  to  harass  and  punish  the 
Peloponnesians  and  Tolmides  was  assigned  to  circum- 
navigate the  peninusla.  His  marauding  squadron  was 
everywhere  successful.  He  ravaged  the  coasts  of  Ar- 
golis,  Laconia,  Elis,  and  Achaia,  plundered  the  towns 
within  convenient  reach  and  did  what  damage  he 
could. 

Two  years  after  Tolmides  achieved  his  naval  success 
in  the  Peloponnesus,  Pericles  sailed  with  a  squadron 
from  the  port  of  Pegae  with  one  thousand  Athenians, 
and  ravaged  the  coasts  of  Argolis  and  Achaia.  He 
also  attacked  (Eniadae  in  Acarnania.  On  this  expedi- 
tion he  defeated  an  army  sent  from  Sicyon,  to  meet 
him  when  he  landed  near  the  city.  This  expedition 
strengthened  his  influence  and  added  to  his  fame  as  a 
military  commander. 

As  has  been  observed,  the  loyalty  shown  by  Cimon 
and  his  followers  at  Tanagra  caused  a  change  in  public 
sentiment  with  respect  to  the  illustrious  exile.  His 
return  to  Athens  was  being  discussed.  Pericles  saw 
the  inevitable  and  planned  that  on  the  return  of  his 
rival,  his  own  popularity  should  not  suffer.  By  a 
master-stroke  of  diplomacy,  the  affair  was  arranged 
in  such  a  way  as  to  obviate  the  possibility  that  the 
return  of  the  popular  admiral  would  weaken  the  power 
of  the  democracy,  or  hinder  the  ambition  of  Pericles. 
It  is  probable  that  the  great  statesman  may  have  used 
the  influence  of  Elpinice,  the  artful  and  engaging  sister 
of  Cimon  to  further  his  designs.  She  undoubtedly  ap- 
pealed to  Pericles  to  lend  his  influence  to  secure  the 
revocation  of  the  decree  of  ostracism  against  her 
brother,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Pericles 
was  instrumental  in  having  the  decree  passed.  She 
had  appealed  to  him  before,  when  her  brother  was  tried 
for  his  life,  and  Pericles  was  assigned  as  one  of  the 


6o6 


MIUTABY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


i 


committee  to  prosecute  the  charges  against  him.  El- 
pinice,  by  reason  of  her  social  position,  the  wealth  of 
her  husband  and  her  brother,  and  the  exalted  position 
he  occupied,  and  as  leader  of  the  oligarchical  party, 
came  constantly  in  contact  with  the  eminent  men  of 
Athens,  and  was  conversant  with  the  political  intrigues 
of  her  day.  There  is,  therefore,  nothing  improbable 
in  the  assumption  that  she  used  her  arts  of  persuasion, 
at  this  time,  to  secure  his  good  will,  especially  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  now  Pericles  was  the  leader  of  his 
party  and  the  most  influential  man  in  Athens.  Cimon 
had  achieved  his  fame  as  a  naval  commander.  It  was 
altogether  fitting  and  proper,  therefore,  that  on  his 
return,  he  should  be  honored  by  giving  him  command 
of  the  naval  forces.  He  could  be  assigned  to  duty  in 
foreign  parts,  and  given  the  opportunity  to  win  fresh 
laurels  on  the  sea.  His  absence  would  relieve  Pericles 
from  any  apprehension  as  to  his  political  influence,  an 
influence  which  might  be  formidable  if  he  were  in 
Athens,  but  which  he  could  not  well  exercise  while 
abroad.  Elpinice  would  have  her  way  in  seeing  her 
brother  restored  to  the  honors  and  dignities  of  his 
high  station ;  and  in  minimizing  his  influence  in  polit- 
ical affairs  at  home,  Pericles  would  reap  the  advantage 
he  sought. 

There  is  reason  to  believe,  also,  that  the  restoration 
of  Cimon  was  the  result  of  a  compromise  of  some  sort 
by  which  the  prejudices  and  passions  aroused  by  party 
feeling  were,  through  his  mediation,  mollified  and  as- 
suaged. He  acted  the  part  of  peace-maker,  and  three 
years  after  the  close  of  the  second  Messenian  War, 
B.  C.  452,  he  negotiated  with  the  Lacedaemonians  the 
Five  Years'  Truce.  We  are  not  informed  what  naval 
operations  were  carried  on  by  Cimon  prior  to  the  time 
when  he  sailed  to  Cyprus  with  a  squadron  of  two  hun- 
dred ships.  This  expedition  was  sent  out  after  the  Five 
Years'  Truce  had  been  concluded  with  the  Laced«mo- 


li^ 


DEATH    OP    TOIiMIDES 


607 


nians,  and  was  the  last  undertaking  of  the  Athenian 
admiral,  who  died  at  Cyprus,  B.  C.  449. 


H 


ATHENS    LOSES    LAND    SUPEEMACY EXPANSION    OF    HER 

MARITIME    EMPIRE 

The  land  supremacy  established  by  Athens  at  QEno- 
phyta,  B.  C.  456,  lasted  ten  years.  The  defeat  of  Tol- 
mides  at  Coronea,  B.  C.  447,  which  marked  the  end  of 
Athenian  power  in  Central  Greece,  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  Attica,  was  analogous,  in  many  respects,  to 
the  defeat  of  the  Spartans  at  Sphacteria,  in  the  sixth 
year  of  the  Peloponnesian  War.  Tolmides  undertook 
his  campaign  in  Boeotia,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  Per- 
icles, who  counselled  caution,  and  advocated  delay  until 
a  stronger  army  could  be  sent  against  the  Boeotian 
oligarchs.  His  advice  was  disregarded.  Many  of  the 
young  men  then  in  Athens  belonged  to  old  and  illus- 
trious families.  They  joined  in  the  movement  and 
volunteered  their  services.  They  believed  that  a  thou- 
sand Athenians  led  by  the  renowned  Tolmides  would  be 
more  than  a  match  for  any  army  their  enemies  could 
muster,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Boeotians 
were  unable  to  secure  the  aid  of  the  Lacedaemonians  by 
reason  of  the  Five  Years'  Truce  which  was  still  in 
force.  Tolmides  was  killed  at  Coronea  and  some  of 
the  prisoners  taken  by  the  enemy  were  of  the  best  blood 
in  Athens.  At  Sphacteria  many  of  the  Spartans  who 
had  been  made  prisoners  by  the  Athenians  belonged  to 
the  most  prominent  families  of  the  Lacedaemonians. 
As  the  Spartans  were  obliged  to  make  peace  after  their 
defeat  to  save  their  most  influential  citizens,  so  Athens, 
after  the  defeat  at  Coronea  was  obliged  to  relinquish 
her  supremacy  in  continental  Hellas  to  save  the  lives 
of  some  of  her  most  estimable  citizens.  The  leaders 
of  the  oligarchical  party,  who  had  been  in  exile  since 
their  defeat  at  QGnophyta  returned.     The  democracies 


6o8 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


THiaTY  tears'  TEUCE 


609 


which  the  Athenians  had  instituted  were  abolished  and 
oligarchies  were  once  more  established  in  their  stead. 

The  oligarchical  party  now  became  active  not  only 
in  Bceotia,  but  in  Phocis,  Locris,  Megara  and  Euboea. 
As  a  result  of  their  influence,  the  island  of  Euboea  re- 
belled, and  refused  allegiance  to  Athens.     Megara  also 
was  induced  to  revolt.    This  disloyalty  of  the  Euboeans 
of  itself  was  a  trivial  affair.     Pericles  would  have  had 
no  difficulty  in  suppressing  it,  but  the  fact  that  the 
Five  Years'  Truce  with  the  Lacedaemonians  had  now 
expired,  caused  some  apprehension.     The  elimination 
of  this  treaty  released  the  latter  from  any  further 
obligation  to  keep  the  peace,  and  refrain  from  molest- 
ing her  ambitious  rival.     The  situation  demanded  all 
the  skill  and  diplomacy  possessed  by  Pericles  in  order 
to  save  Attica  from  invasion,  and  secure  the  repose  of 
Athens.     The  oligarchical  party,  after  the  expatria- 
tion of  Cimon,  was  led  by  Thucydides  (not  the  histo- 
rian), a  relative  also  of  Cimon,  and  a  man  of  great 
ability.     His  party  was  opposed  to  war  with  the  Lace- 
daemonians and  the  further  expansion  of  the  Athenian 
Empire,  at  the  risk  of  incurring  the  hostility  of  other 
states  of  Greece.     But  the  war  had  actually  begun, 
while  Pericles  was  absent  with  an  army  to  suppress  the 
insurrection  in  Euboea.     Pleistoanax,  the  young  King 
of  Sparta,  who  shared  the  crown  with  Archidamus, 
was  placed  in  command  of  an  army  with  instructions 
to  invade  Attica.    When  Pericles  learned  that  the  Pel- 
oponnesians  were  advancing  through  Megara,  he  was 
compelled    to    abandon,    temporarily,    operations    in 
Euboea.     He  hastened  to  Attica,  and  arrived  after  the 
Spartans  had  crossed  the  border  and  were  encamped 
on  the  plain  of  Eleusis.    Athens  was  not  ready  for  war 
with  Sparta.     Pericles  was  resourceful.     He  knew  the 
power  of  money.   Pleistoanax  was  young.   Cleandrides, 
his  coadjutor,  who  had  been  sent  with  the  king  to  ad- 
vise and  give  him  the  benefit  of  his  mature  judgment, 


was  susceptible.  Pericles  bribed  them  both.  The  Spar- 
tans evacuated  Attica  and  returned  to  their  own  coun- 
try. He  then  returned  with  five  thousand  hoplites  and 
reduced  Euboea  to  subjection. 

Pericles  was  now  called  upon  to  decide  whether  he 
would  be  content  to  relinquish  Megara,  iEgina,  Troezen 
in  Argolis,  and  territory  in  Achaia,  for  the  sake  of 
peace,  or  whether  he  would  go  to  war  with  the  Pelopon- 
nesians.    He  considered  that  the  integrity  of  his  mari- 
time empire  with  peace  was  more  to  his  own  interests 
and  the  interest  of  his  countrymen  than  war  with  the 
Peloponnesians.     He  accordingly  negotiated  a  treaty 
of  peace  with  the  Lacedaemonians  and  their  allies,  B.  C. 
445,  which  by  its  terms  was  limited  to   a  period  of 
thirty  years.    This  pact  may  be  regarded  as  the  crown- 
ing act  of  diplomacy  of  the  great  statesman.     It  gave 
Athens  repose  for  fifteen  years,  and  is  known  as  the 
Thirty  Years'  Truce.     During  this  period  Athens  at- 
tained unparalleled  prosperity  and  reached  the  height 
of  her  fame  as  the  most  renowned  city  of  antiquity.     It 
embraces  the  era  which  bears  the  impress  of  his  genius 
and  the  genius  of  the  distinguished  men  of  the  time, 
and  is  known  as  the  golden  age  of  Pericles. 

The  main  obstacle  now  in  the  way  of  the  ambition  of 
the  leader  of  the  Athenian  democracy,  was  the  influ- 
ence of  the  oligarchical  party  led  by  Thucydides.  The 
policy  of  the  oligarchs  and  their  campaign  cry  was 
united  Hellas.  They  advocated  the  establishment  of 
amicable  relations  with  all  the  cities  and  states  in 
Greece.  This  idea  was  repugnant  to  the  policy  of  the 
Athenian  democracy.  How  was  it  possible  to  unite 
Hellas  without  creating  either  a  pan-Hellenic  oligarchy 
or  a  universal  democracy.  A  house  divided  against 
itself  cannot  stand.  Hellas  could  not  exist  half  oli- 
garchic and  half  democratic.  It  must  be  all  oligarchic 
or  all  democratic.  The  Lacedaemonians  and  their  allies 
would  not  surrender  their  autonomy,  and  their  form  of 


6io 


MIUTABY   ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


:  n 
11^ 


government  for  the  sake  of  Hellenic  unity.  The  Athe- 
nians would  not  consent  to  Hellenic  unity  if  the  price 
was  to  be  the  abolition  of  their  democratic  constitution, 
as  perfected  by  Ephialtes,  and  supported  by  Pericles. 
The  difficulty  was  insurmountable  and  politically  im- 
possible. But  there  was  involved  another  issue,  rela- 
ting to  the  disposition  of  the  moneys  contributed  an- 
nually by  the  Athenian  allies,  who  constituted  the  mem- 
bership of  the  Confederacy  of  Delos. 

This  Confederacy  was  formed  B.  C.  478,  when  Cimon 
entered  on  his  wars  of  expulsion  to  drive  the  Persians 
from  Europe  and  the  eastern   shores  of  Asia.     The 
members  of  the  Confederacy,  besides  Athens,  were  the 
States  and  Municipalities  situated  on  the  islands  of  the 
^gean  Sea,  and  the  Hellenic  coast  cities  of  Asia  Minor. 
The  object  and  purpose  of  the  Confederacy  was  to 
secure  a  fund  and  supply  ships  and  men  to  prosecute 
these  wars  of  expulsion,  and  protect  the  members  of 
the  league  from  Persian  invasion.     The  amount  to  be 
contributed  by  each  member  was  adjusted  by  mutual 
consent.    Athens  was  chosen  as  president  of  the  league, 
and  its  treasury  was  to  remain  in  the  temple  of  Apollo 
on  the  sacred  island  of  Delos.    Each  member  paid  into 
it  a  fixed  tax  or  contribution  or  furnished  its  quota  of 
ships   and   men.     Long  after  the  Persians   had   been 
driven  from  the  JEgcan  sea,  Athens  continued  to  exact 
this  war  tax,  which  amounted  to  a  sum  equivalent  to 
more   than   $600,000   annually.      After   the   lapse   of 
about  eighteen  years,  presumably  about  B.   C.   460, 
Pericles  exerted  his  influence  to  secure  the  removal  of 
the  treasury  of  the  League  from  the  island  of  Delos  to 
the  city  of  Athens,  on  the  pretext  that  the  funds  would 
be  safer  in  Attica  than  in  the  midst  of  the  JEgean. 
The  treasury  was  accordingly  taken  to  Athens.    It  was 
no  longer  necessary  to  exact  this  tax,  because  the  Per- 
sian wars,  so  far  as  the  safety  of  the  members  of  the 
Confederacy  was  concerned,  had  long  since  ceased.    As 


INJUSTICE    OF    PEEICLES 


6ll 


the  tax  was  levied  by  consent,  for  a  specific  purpose, 
its  exaction  for  any  other  purpose  than  that  for  which 
it  was  contributed  was  wholly  unauthorized  and  illegal. 
Pericles,  about  the  time  the  Thirty  Years'  Truce  was 
concluded,  without  the  consent  of  the  league,  began  to 
use  a  large  part  of  these  war  funds  to  beautify  and 
adorn  the  city  of  Athens. 

The  allies  protested.  Why  should  these  municipali- 
ties and  states  continue  to  contribute  their  substance 
and  the  fruits  of  their  toil  in  order  that  the  Athenians 
might  lavish  it  to  guild  her  city  all  over,  "  and  to 
adorn  and  set  her  forth,  as  it  were,  some  vain  woman, 
hung  round  with  precious  stones,  and  figures  and  tem- 
ples which  cost  a  world  of  money."  The  members  of 
the  Confederacy  complained  at  the  injustice  and  ob- 
jected to  being  forced  to  pay.  Pericles,  at  the  head 
of  the  Athenian  democracy,  the  president  of  the  league, 
overruled  these  objections,  took  the  money  by  force 
and  reduced  to  subjection  those  members  of  the  league 
who  refused  to  submit.  His  course  was  sustained  by 
the  Public  Assembly  over  the  protest  of  Thucydides 
and  the  oligarchical  party,  who  contended  not  that  the 
tax  should  be  reduced,  but  that  the  money  should  be 
used  solely  to  prosecute  war  against  Persia  in  Egypt, 
Cyprus  and  distant  parts  of  the  world  remote  from 

the  iEgean. 

The  argument  of  Pericles  to  support  this  great  in- 
justice with  respect  to  diverting  this  war  fund,  is  with- 
out merit.  He  claimed  that  the  Athenians  were  not 
bound  to  account  for  the  moneys  received  from  their 
allies,  if  they  maintained  at  all  times  their  defense  and 
prevented  the  barbarians  from  molesting  them.  He 
argued  that  the  tax  belonged  not  to  those  who  paid 
it,  but  to  those  who  received  it.  He  entirely  ignored 
the  fact  that  whenever  the  tax  was  in  excess  of  the 
amount  necessary  to  police  the  ^Egean,  it  should  be 
reduced  proportionately.     On  the  contrary  he  coa- 


i 


6l2 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


i 


tended  that  if  the  amount  of  the  revenues  derived  from 
the  members  of  the  league  was  more  than  sufficient  for 
the  purposes  for  which  it  was  levied  that,  nevertheless, 
the  Athenians  had  a  right  to  expend  the  surplus,  to 
adorn  and  beautify  Athens,  the  head  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, the  pride  of  Hellas,  and  the  most  renowned  city 
in  the  world.  He  argued  that  the  works  of  art  and 
magnificent  temples  and  structures  which  made  Athens 
great,  also  augmented  her  power  and  influence,  and 
reflected  the  courage  and  patriotism  of  its  citizens  so 
as  to  command  not  only  the  respect  and  admiration  of 
other  states,  but  gave  Athens  a  prestige  that  deterred 
those  who  might  otherwise  have  been  inclined  to  assail 
or  humiliate  the  allies,  whom  Athens  had  sworn  to  de- 
fend. 

When  we  consider  the  circumstances  under  which 
the  money  was  contributed,  it  will  be  impossible  to  sus- 
tain the  plausible  argument  of  Pericles  on  any  sound 
moral  principle.  It  must  rest  solely  on  the  plea  of  ex- 
pediency or  on  the  false  theory  often  invoked  by  benev- 
olent despots,  that  might  makes  right,  or  that  the  end 
justifies  the  means.  We  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that 
the  money  was  given  to  Athens  as  President  of  the 
Confederacy  in  trust,  for  the  uses  and  purposes  agreed 
upon  by  all  the  members.  Upon  sound  principles  of 
equity,  therefore,  the  trustee  was  bound  to  apply  the 
money  to  those  uses  exclusively,  unless  by  consent  of 
the  constituent  members  of  the  league  it  was  made 
applicable  to  a  difl^erent  purpose. 

Party  spirit  ran  high  and  caused  unusual  excite- 
ment among  the  advocates  who  severally  supported 
Thucydides  on  the  one  side  and  Pericles  on  the  other. 
Thucydides  finally  concluded  to  appeal  directly  to  the 
people  for  a  vote  of  confidence.  This  course  involved 
the  alternative  of  ostracism.  If  the  confidence  was 
voted  to  his  adversary,  Pericles,  and  withheld  from 
Thucydides,  a  decree  of  ostracism  would  follow  against 


PERICLES    SUPREME 


613 


the  unsuccessful  candidate.    In  other  words  the  people 
were  called  upon  to  decide  which  of  the  two  leaders 
should  be  ostracised.     The  result  necessarily  involved 
the    political    fate    of   the   rivals    who    contended    for 
political    supremacy.       Pericles    defeated    his    antag- 
onist.    The  majority  in  his  favor  was  decisive  and  over- 
whelming,  and  resulted  in  largely  disintegrating  the 
combination  that  had  been  formed  against  him.     All 
formidable  opposition  in  the  city  practically  ceased. 
Pericles   secured   control.     The  vast  resources   of  his 
countrymen    were    at    his    command,    "their    tributes, 
their  armies,  and  their  galleys,  the  islands,  the  sea,  and 
their  wide  extent  of  power,  partly  over  other  Greeks, 
and  partly  over  barbarians,  and  all  that  empire  which 

they  possessed." 

After  this  personal  triumph,  Pericles,  according  to 
Plutarch,  was  not  the  same  man  he  was  before.  Athens 
became  thenceforth  an  empire  which  went  under  the 
name  of  a  democracy,  and  was  controlled  by  the  will 
of  one  man.    Pericles  was  for  all  practical  purposes  the 

State. 

There  were  no  longer  any  obstacles  to  hinder  the 
Athenian  protagonist  from  carrying  out  his  ambitious 
designs.  The  funds  contributed  by  the  Delian  Con- 
federacy were  available,  and  he  determined  to  make 
Athens  the  most  renowned  city  in  the  world.  Landor 
puts  a  speech  into  the  mouth  of  Pericles,  supposed  to 
have  been  delivered  when  Archidamus  was  approach- 
ing Attica  with  an  army  of  60,000  men.  "  Impelled 
by  the  breath  of  Xerxes,"  he  said,  "  the  locusts  of 
Asia  consumed  your  harvests;  your  habitations 
crumbled  away  as  they  swarmed  along;  the  temples 
of  the  gods  lay  prostrate ;  the  gods  themselves  bowed 
and  fell;  the  men  of  Athens  rose  higher  than  ever. 
Pericles  now  determined  to  restore  the  temples  and 
images  burned  by  the  Persians,  and  make  his  city 
greater  than  any.     His  designs  were  successfully  ac- 


li 


6i4 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


complished.  The  faded  splendors  of  Athens,  after 
more  than  twerty-three  centuries,  still  attract  the  ad- 
miration of  mankind.  Posterity  has  not  surpassed  the 
artistic  architectural  beauty,  the  graceful  images  and 
statues  produced  in  the  age  of  Pericles.  Modern 
scholars  and  lovers  of  the  beautiful  continue  to  wonder 
at  the  development  which  characterized  Athenian  art 
at  that  period  of  the  world's  history.  To-day  we  love 
to  dwell  upon  the  achievements  of  the  city  of  the  violet 
crown,  which  has  been  characterized  by  Mahaffy  as 
"the  tomb  of  ancient  glory  —  the  home  of  ancient 
wisdom ;  the  mother  of  science,  of  art,  of  philosophy, 
of  politics  —  the  champion  of  liberty,  the  envy  of  the 
Persian  and  the  Roman  —  the  teacher  even  still  of  the 
modem  civilized  world." 

There  can  be  little  doubt,  however,  that  the  principal 
issue  in  the  campaign  between  Pericles  and  Thucydides 
was  not  whether  Athens  was  justified  in  using  the 
funds  of  the  Delian  Confederacy  to  beautify  and  adorn 
the  city  and  the  hill  of  the  Acropolis,  but  whether  the 
democratic  form  of  government  then  established  should 
give  way  to  an  oligarchy.  There  can  be  no  question 
either  that  during  the  campaign  Pericles  promised 
Hellenic  unity,  provided  it  could  be  brought  about  with- 
out imperiling  democratic  government  at  least  in 
Attica.  In  furtherance  of  this  design,  according  to  the 
account  given  by  Plutarch,  the  Public  Assembly,  at 
the  instance  of  Pericles,  passed  a  decree  authorizing 
a  pan-Hellenic  Congress,  to  assemble  in  Athens,  com- 
posed of  delegates  from  every  Greek  city  in  Europe 
and  Asia.  The  object  of  this  assembly  was  to  confer 
as  to  the  best  mode  of  securing  and  devising  ways  and 
means  to  restore  the  Greek  temples,  which  had  been 
burned  and  destroyed  by  the  armies  of  Persia,  to  fulfill 
the  vows  that  had  been  made  by  the  Hellenese  for  the 
safety  of  their  land  from  the  sword  of  the  invader,  and 
more  important  still  to  establish  a  maritime  code  or 


PEOPOSED    PAN  -  HELUENIC    CONGEESS 


615 


proper  laws  and  ordinances  regulating  the  navigation 
of  the  seas  to  promote  commercial  prosperity  and 
secure  peace  among  the  Hellenese.  Twenty  delegates 
were  commissioned  to  execute  the  decree.  Five  were 
dispatched  to  Asia  to  summon  the  lonians  and  Dorians 
and  the  islanders  as  far  as  Lesbos  and  Rhodes ;  five  to 
Thrace  and  the  Hellespont  as  far  as  Byzantium ;  ^\e 
to  Boeotia,  Phocis  and  the  Peloponnesus,  to  the  Lo- 
crians  and  over  the  continent  to  the  Ambracian  Gulf; 
the  other  ^ve  were  sent  to  the  gulf  of  Malis  and  be- 
yond into  Thessaly,  as  far  as  the  confines  of  Mace- 
donia. 

This  patriotic  movement  worthy  of  the  genius  of 
the  Athenian  statesman  was  thwarted  through  the  envy 
and  jealousy  of  the  narrow  and  prejudiced  Lacedaemo- 
nians and  their  allies,  who  secretly  defeated  the  project 
and  settled  for  all  time  the  destinies  of  Greece  which 
they  preferred  should  remain  divided,  unless  they  them- 
selves could  control  the  enterprise,  and  become  the 
official  head  of  United  Hellas. 


CORCYEIAN    AND    CORINTHIAN    WARS 

The  military  operations,  which  disturbed  the  repose 
of  Greece,  after  the  Samian  War,  are  known  as  the 
Corcyrian  Wars,  waged  by  Corinth,  the  mother  city, 
against  Corey ra  (Corfu),  her  daughter  city,  in  which 
the  former  sought  to  discipline  the  latter.  Both  states 
had  been  active  in  establishing  colonies.  Corcyra 
founded  several  on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Adriatic. 
The  most  flourishing  of  these  was  Epidamnus  in  Illyria. 
About  five  years  before  the  beginning  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesian  War,  the  Epidamnians  were  attacked  by  the 
barbarous  Illyrian  tribes  dwelling  in  the  contiguous 
territory  and  were  reduced  to  extremity.  In  their  dis- 
tress they  appealed  to  their  mother  city  Corcyra  for 


6i6 


MlLITAET  ANNALS   OF   GEEECE 


succor.  Their  entreaties  were  disregarded  and  the 
Epidamnians,  after  consulting  the  oracles  at  the 
temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  appealed  to  Corinth  and 
delivered  their  city  to  them.  The  Corinthians  at  once 
sent  troops  and  colonies  to  Epidamnus.  This  prompt 
intervention  kindled  the  anger  of  the  Corcyrians.  A 
fleet  was  sent  to  Epidamnus  with  instructions  to  de- 
mand that  the  latter  expel  the  Corinthians  who  had 
hastened  to  relieve  them.  The  request  was  refused. 
The  Corcyrians  then  invested  the  city  and  called  in  as 
allies  the  barbarous  Illyrian  tribes.  War  was  declared 
by  Corinth  against  Corcyra.  The  former  dispatched 
a  fleet  to  Epidamnus  which  was  intercepted  by  a  Cor- 
cyrian  squadron  off  the  promontory  of  Actium  in  Acar- 
nania  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ambracian  Gulf.  There, 
in  sight  of  the  temple  of  Apollo,  visible  from  the  decks 
of  the  hostile  fleets,  a  great  naval  battle  was  fought 
in  which  the  Corinthians  were  overwhelmingly  defeated. 
As  a  result  Epidamnus  was  forced  to  surrender  and 
the  unfortunate  city  came  again  into  the  possession 
of  Corcyra.  Both  sides  then  appealed  to  Athens.  Cor- 
cyra sought  to  form  an  alliance  with  the  Athenians. 
This  was  strongly  opposed  by  the  ambassadors  sent 
by  Corinth.  Pericles  finally  advised  that  the  Athe- 
nians enter  into  a  defensive  alliance  with  Corcyra,  and 
declined  to  accede  to  the  petition  of  the  Corinthians, 
praying  that  Athens  remain  neutral  and  permit  them 
to  discipline  their  daughter  cit}',  as  Athens  had  dis- 
ciplined their  allies  in  Samos.  The  fruits  of  this  de- 
fensive alliance  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  Corinthian 
fleet  off  the  island  of  Sybota,  near  the  coast  of  Epirus, 
B.  C.  432.  When  the  Corcyrians  were  hard  pressed, 
and  disaster  seemed  inevitable,  an  Athenian  fleet  ap- 
peared and  saved  the  day.  Victory  was  plucked  from 
the  jaws  of  defeat.  The  Corinthians  were  forced  to 
retire.  The  latter  urged  that  this  intervention  was  a 
violation  of  the  Thirty  Years'  Truce.     Her  Pelopon- 


RESPONSIBILITY    FOE    PELOPONNESIAN    WAE        617 

nesian   allies   so  decided,   and   all  Greece  was   shortly 
afterwards  involved  in  civil  war. 

Pericles  is  blamed  in  some  quarters  with  being  solely 
responisble  for  bringing  on  the  Peloponnesian  War. 
This  conclusion  is  not  justified  by  the  facts.  In  his 
great  war  speech,  the  last  address  made  by  Pericles 
in  the  Public  Assembly  which  immediately  preceded  the 
commencement  of  hostihties,  he  did  advocate  war. 
But  this  advice  was  also  predicated  on  the  assumption 
that  the  enemy  would  finally  reject  all  overtures  of 
peace.  Pericles  declared  to  the  Assembly  that  Athens 
must  not  be  the  aggressor;  that  if  war  ensued  the 
Lacedaemonians  and  their  allies,  not  the  Athenians, 
must  be  the  aggressors.  Thucydides,  in  all  probabil- 
ity, was  in  the  Assembly  and  heard  the  speech  deliv- 
ered. He  has  reported  it  fully,  and  preserved  it  for 
the  perusal  of  posterity.  When  the  arguments  of 
Pericles  are  analyzed,  there  seems  to  be  no  room  for 
doubt  that  Pericles  did  not  urge  Athens  to  make  war. 
The  address  begins  with  this  statement :  "  I  say,  Athe- 
nians, as  I  have  always  said,  that  we  must  never  yield 
to  the  Peloponnesians."  He  then  observed  that  when 
differences  should  arise,  the  treaty  required  that  they 
should  be  submitted  to  arbitration.  That  the  Pelopon- 
nesians had  never  asked  for  arbitration,  and  when  the 
Athenians  offered  it  they  declined.  He  then  reminded 
his  audience  that  the  Lacedaemonians  required  the  Athe- 
nians "  To  quit  Potidea,  to  leave  ^Egina  independent, 
and  to  rescind  the  decree  respecting  the  Megarians." 
He  observed  further  that  if  the  Athenians  yielded,  their 
adversaries  would  think  that  they  did  so  through  fear 
and  would  immediately  dictate  more  oppressive  condi- 
tions. That  the  Athenians  must  either  give  way  before 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  or,  if  they  determined 
to  go  to  war,  which  course  Pericles  advocated,  then 
they  must  yield  nothing.  He  then  made  this  forcible 
observation :  "  Any  claim,  the  smallest  as  well  as  the 


I 


I 


6i8 


MIUTAEY    ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


ADVICE    OF   ALCIBIADES 


619 


greatest,  imposed  on  a  neighbor  and  an  equal  when 
there  has  been  no  legal  award,  can  mean  nothing  but 
slavery."  He  then  set  forth  the  resources  of  the  Athe- 
nian empire  and  contrasted  it  with  that  of  the  Lacede- 
monians. 

In  answer  to  those  who  declare  that  this  address 
was  tantamount  to  an  open  declaration  of  war,  it  is 
sufficient  to  refer  to  the  answer  which  Pericles  recom- 
mended in  his  speech  should  be  sent  to  the  ambassa- 
dors, who  were  about  to  return  to  Sparta.  '*  Let  us 
say  to  them,"  said  Pericles,  "  that  we  will  not  exclude 
the  Megarians  from  our  markets  and  harbors,  if  the 
Lacedaemonians  will  not  exclude  foreigners,  whether 
ourselves  or  our  allies,  from  Sparta,  for  the  treaty  no 
more  forbids  one  than  the  other.  That  we  will  con- 
cede independence  to  the  cities,  if  they  were  independ- 
ent when  we  made  the  treaty,  and  as  soon  as  the  Lace- 
daemonians allow  their  subject  states  to  be  governed 
as  they  choose,  not  for  the  interest  of  Lacedaemon,  but 
for  their  own.  Also  that  we  are  willing  to  offer  arbi- 
tration according  to  the  treaty.  That  we  do  not  want 
to  begin  war,  but  intend  to  defend  ourselves  if  at- 
tacked." 

The  war  speech  of  Pericles,  therefore,  after  setting 
out  the  facts,  constitutes  an  offer  on  the  part  of  the 
Athenians  to  conform  to  the  terms  and  conditions  of 
the  treaty  (the  Thirty  Years'  Truce)  and  submit  all 
their  differences  to  arbitration. 

Diodorus,  in  the  Twelfth  Book  of  his  history,  gives 
his  version  of  the  immediate  cause  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War.  He  says  that  it  was  brought  about  by  Pericles, 
in  order  to  avoid  being  called  to  account  for  the  moneys 
of  the  Delian  League  for  which  as  treasurer  of  Athens, 
President  of  the  League,  he  was  accountable.  The 
Athenians,  Diodorus  says,  sought  to  secure  dominion 
of  the  sea.  He  declares  that  Pericles  had  expended  a 
great  part  of  these  public  funds  in  connection  with  his 


private  affairs.  Having  been  called  to  render  an  ac- 
count of  his  stewardship  he  fell  sick.  During  his  ill- 
ness his  nephew,  Alcibiades,  not  then  of  full  age,  called 
to  see  him,  and  having  inquired  as  to  the  cause  of  his 
uncle's  indisposition  was  advised  as  to  his  perplexity 
with  regard  to  the  public  funds  which  were  entrusted 
to  his  custody.  Alcibiades  suggested  that  instead  of 
considering  how  he  should  account,  it  would  be  far 
better  for  him  to  devise  some  way  to  avoid  giving  any 
account  at  all.  Pericles  then  began  to  consider  how  he 
might  involve  the  Athenians  in  some  great  war.  It 
happened  at  this  time,  according  to  Diodorus,  that 
Phidias,  at  the  behest  of  the  enemies  of  Pericles,  had 
been  accused.  It  was  charged  that  with  the  connivance 
and  help  of  Pericles,  he  had  embezzled  large  sums  be- 
longing to  the  goddess  Athene,  whose  statue  of  ivory 
and  gold  had  been  carved  by  Phidias,  and  placed  in 
the  Parthenon.  The  charge  was  both  for  embezzle- 
ment and  sacrilege.  In  this  charge  Anaxagoras,  the 
philosopher  and  friend  of  Pericles,  was  involved  also. 
Pericles  was  a  good  judge  of  human  nature  and  be- 
lieved it  to  be  advantageous  for  him  if  possible  to  in- 
volve Athens  in  the  war  and  make  use  of  men  engaged 
in  idle  gossip  actuated  by  envy  and  jealousy,  in  order- 
that  amidst  the  excitement  of  war,  they  would  be  deaf 
to  the  accusations  against  him,  and  would  have  neither 
time  nor  leisure  to  call  him  to  account.  The  Athe- 
nians had  recently  made  a  decree  that  the  citizens  of 
]\Iegara  should  be  cut  off  from  all  commercial  rela- 
tions with  them,  both  by  sea  and  land.  The  Megarians 
then  petitioned  the  Spartans  to  aid  them,  to  secure  a 
rescission  of  this  decree  against  Megara.  Pericles,  ac- 
cording to  this  account,  saw  his  opportunity.  He  op- 
posed the  revocation  of  the  decree,  and  advised  recourse 
to  arms.  And  the  war  came.  Thus  Diodorus,  on  the 
authority  of  Ephorus,  the  Greek  historian,  attributes 
to  the  alleged  peculations  of  Pericles,  the  true  cause 


I 


620 


MIMTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


of  the  Peloponnesian  War.  Plutarch,  however,  who 
wrote  probably  a  century  after  Diodorus,  does  not 
credit  this  version  as  to  the  genesis  of  the  war,  which 
destroyed  the  glory  of  Athens,  and  declares  that  the 
truth  as  to  the  accusation  is  uncertain.  Moreover,  he 
has  passed  the  highest  encomium  on  ihe  character  of 
Pericles,  and  comparing  him  with  Fabius,  declares  that 
no  man  "  had  ever  greater  opportunities  to  enrich 
himself  having  had  presents  offered  him  from  so  many 
kings  and  princes  and  allies,  yet  no  man  was  ever  more 
free  from  corruption." 

Thucydides,  also,  the  illustrious  contemporary  of  the 
Athenian  statesman,  does  not  attribute  the  Dorian  War 
to  this  charge  of  peculation,  nor  to  the  Megarian  de- 
cree, but  claims  that  it  was  brought  on  by  the  blow 
struck  at  Potidea,  arising  out  of  the  affair  of  Epi- 
damnus  and  Corcyra. 

The  beginning  of  this  war  was  an  important  date 
in  Hellenic  annals.  It  marked  an  epoch  in  the  history 
of  Greece.  Herodotus  had  then  attained  the  age  of 
53 ;  Thucydides  the  historian  was  40 ;  Pericles  was  68. 
In  this  year  also  the  tragedy  of  Medea,  by  Euripides, 
was  first  produced.  Its  author  at  the  time  was  48 
years  old.  Fleets  and  armies  were  mobilized,  the  con- 
tending forces  which  were  destined  to  bring  de- 
struction upon  Hellas  aligned  themselves,  and  active 
preparations  were  made  for  the  titanic  struggle,  des- 
tinued  to  continue  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century. 

Archidamus,  at  the  last  moment,  still  hoped  for 
peace.  When  his  forces  reached  the  borders  of  Attica, 
he  dispatched  as  his  envoy  Melanippus,  in  the  hope 
that  an  amicable  adjustment  might  still  be  reached,  and 
war  averted.  But  Pericles  forbade.  He  secured  the 
adoption  of  a  resolution  by  the  Public  Assembly  to 
receive  neither  envoy  nor  herald,  and  Melanippus  was 
sent  back  across  the  border  before  sunset  on  the  day 


PLAGUE    IN   ATHENS 


621 


he  sought  to  reach  Athens,  and  was  not  permitted  even 
to  disclose  the  nature  of  his  message. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  B.  C.  431,  Archidamus 
began  his  work  of  destruction.  He  devastated  Attica 
and  laid  waste  its  fertile  demes,  burning  and  destroy- 
ing the  harvests,  the  vineyards,  the  orchards.  He  re- 
mained in  Attica  less  than  forty  days,  and  then  his 
supplies  having  become  exhausted  late  in  July,  he  evacu- 
ated the  country  and  returned  through  the  friendly 
state  of  Boeotia. 

Pericles  now  took  up  the  sword,  to  retaliate  upon 
the  enemy  for  the  injury  that  his  countrymen  had  sus- 
tained at  their  hands.  Late  in  September,  at  the  head 
of  an  army  of  13,000  hoplites,  he  entered  the  Megarid 
and  laid  waste  the  country  with  fire  and  sword,  and 
carried  his  destructive  warfare  to  the  very  gates  of  the 
city  of  Megara.  These  invasions  and  counter  invasions 
embraced  the  operations  in  the  first  year  of  this  mem- 
orable struggle.  It  was  in  the  winter,  431  B.  C,  that 
Pericles  was  chosen  to  deliver  the  funeral  oration,  in 
memory  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  campaign. 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year,  B.  C.  430, 
Archidamus  repeated  the  operations  of  the  previous- 
summer,  and  again  invaded  Attica.  It  was  during  this 
campaign  that  the  scourge  of  pestilence  more  deadly 
than  that  of  war,  filled  Athens  with  desolation  and  in- 
describable horrors.  "  Death  was  whetting  his  arrows, 
and  the  graves  were  open."  The  Athenians  murmured 
and  repeated  the  old  adage  that  the  Dorian  War  would 
come  and  a  plague  with  it.  Pericles  became  the  object 
of  their  bitter  attacks.  He  was  blamed  for  the  war  and 
for  the  pestilence.  His  enemies  and  vicious  and  jealous 
rivals  now  gave  full  rein  to  their  passions  and  preju- 
dices, and  bent  their  energies  to  discredit  and  ruin  the 
great  statesman,  and  drag  him  from  power.  Plots  and 
conspiracies  had  already  manifested  themselves  in  ef- 
forts  to   strike   down  the   close   friends   of   Pericles. 


!i 


622 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


THE   AFFAIR   OF    CYLON 


62Z 


Among  his  traducers  was  the  notorious  tanner  Cleon, 
the  idol  of  the  lower  classes.     He  was  conspicuous  for 
his  brutal  denunciation  and  vituperation.     In  the  ab- 
sence   of   proper   libel    laws,    no    reputation,    however 
chaste,  no  character,  however  noble,  escaped  the  as- 
saults of  this  vulgar  demagogue.    He  lacked  the  refine- 
ment and  intellectual  qualities  of  Aristophanes  and  the 
scholarly  attainments  of  the  satirists  and  comic  poets 
of  the  day.     But  his  coarse,  vulgar  wit,  and  pictur- 
esque and  spectacular  harangues  caught  the  fancy  of 
the   masses    and   won   the   applause    of   the   illiterate. 
Phidias,  the  greatest  sculptor  of  any  age;    Anaxag- 
oras,  the  renowned  scholar  and  philosopher ;  the  gifted 
and  beautiful  Milesian  Aspasia,  the  wife  of  Pericles, 
all  were  marked  for  destruction.      The   integrity   of 
Pericles  himself  was  finally  assailed  and  he  was  obliged 
to  pay  an  unjust  fine.     Phidias  died  in  prison;   Anax- 
agoras  became  an  exile ;    Aspasia  was  acquitted  after 
a  vigorous  defense  conducted  by  Pericles  in  person. 

Bowed  down  by  the  terrible  afflictions  visited  upon 
them   by    the    ravages    of   pestilence,    the    citizens    of 
Athens  sought  to  blame  Pericles  and  even  sought  to 
hold  him  responsible  for  the  fatal  scourge  which  had 
been  imposed  in  the  dispensation  of  divine  providence. 
In  his  defense  to  these  charges  and  accusations,  Pericles, 
m  the  course  of  his  speech,  observed :  "  By  this  time 
your   empire    has    become    a    tyranny,    which,    in    the 
opmion  of  mankind,  you  may  have  unjustly  gained, 
but  which  cannot  be  safely  surrendered."     In  other 
words,  he  advised  that  the  Athenians  having  built  up 
the  most  flourishing  empire  in  the  worid,  no  matter 
whether  the  means  by  which  it  was  acquired  were  just 
or  unjust,  yet  they  could  not  now  afford  to  lose  it,  at 
the  behest  of  timorous  or  discontented  citizens  and  sub- 
stitute their  glorious  sovereignty  for  a  condition  which 
must  result  in  political  dissolution,  disintegration  and 
slavery. 


In  this  connection  we  must  remember,  also,  that  the 
Lacedaemonians  and  their  allies  blamed  their  misfor- 
tunes on  Pericles  personally.  All  their  shafts  were 
hurled  at  the  great  statesman,  whose  influence  domi- 
nated the  Athenians,  whose  superior  intelligence  and 
clever  diplomacy  prevented  them  from  securing  com- 
mercial or  political  advantages,  and  whose  successful 
foreign  policy  opened  foreign  markets  to  Athenian 
ports,  oftentimes  to  the  exclusion  of  her  rivals  in  the 
Peloponnesus.  They  concentrated  their  efforts  to  per- 
suade the  Athenians  to  rid  themselves  of  their  pro- 
tagonist, who  in  point  of  ability  and  political  sagacity 
was  easily  the  greatest  man  of  his  age.  They  resorted 
to  religious  prejudices,  by  reminding  the  Athenians 
that  the  "  curse  "  of  the  goddess  was  visited  upon  the 
Alcmaeonidae,  in  the  affair  of  Cylon,  and  that  this  pollu- 
tion was  inherited  by  Pericles,  the  son  of  Xanthippus. 
They  were  reminded  how  his  ancestor,  Megacles,  the 
head  of  the  Alcmaeonidae,  had  pursued  Cylon,  who  took 
refuge  at  the  altar  where  he  was  under  the  divine  pro- 
tection ;  how  he  was  induced  to  quit  the  temple,  on  the 
promise  that  his  life  would  be  spared;  and  having  re- 
lied on  the  false  promise,  was  butchered  by  the  Alcmae- 
onidae. The  murderers  and  their  descendants  were 
accursed  by  the  goddess.  The  Lacedaemonians  tried 
to  persuade  the  Athenians  to  drive  out  the  "  curse,"  in 
the  hope  that  even  if  they  failed  to  persuade  the  people 
to  banish  Pericles,  they  might  discredit  him,  by  in- 
ducing them  to  believe  that  if  war  ensued  it  would 
result  as  a  consequence  of  the  pollution  that  rested  on 
the  first  citizen  of  the  empire. 

The  attempt  not  only  failed,  but  was  met  by  a 
counter  demand  that  the  Spartans  drive  out  the 
"  curse  "  of  Tenaras,  referring  to  the  murder  of  cer- 
tain Helots,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  temple  of 
Poseidon,  at  Tenaras,  and  who  were  taken  thence,  led 
away  and  slain.     This  act  the  Lacedaemonians  them- 


624 


MILITAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


selves  believed  was  marked  by  divine  displeasure,  evi- 
denced by  the  earthquake  which  destroyed  Sparta  and 
resulted  in  the  outbreak  of  the  Helots  and  the  Third 
Messenian  War. 

Although  the  Lacedsemonians  failed  in  their  attempts 
to  discredit  Pericles,  the  peace  party  in  Athens,  ad- 
herents of  the  oligarchical  party  of  Cimon  and  Thu- 
cydides,  and  blatant  demagogues  and  radicals  led  by 
Cleon,  united  their  efforts  and  resorted  to  every  means 
to  bring  Pericles  into  disfavor.  They  were  aided  by  a 
contingent  of  malcontents  among  the  democrats  who 
were  envious  and  jealous  of  the  great  statesman.  The 
plan  was  to  strike  down  first  the  friends  of  Pericles, 
and  then  to  accuse  the  great  statesman  himself  and 
bring  him  before  the  court  on  some  pretext,  which 
would  entail  disgrace  and  ignominy. 

In  order  to  carry  out  these  plans,  the  conspirators 
enlisted  the  aid  of  a  venal  and  corrupt  priesthood,  who 
sought  to  create  religious  prejudices.  During  the  ab- 
sence of  Pericles,  Diopithes,  the  priest  of  the  temple  of 
Erechtheus,  became  the  sponsor  of  a  law  against  heresy 
which  was  introduced  and  passed  by  the  Public  As- 
sembly. Under  this  statute  the  philosophers,  the  most 
conspicuous  of  whom  was  Anaxagoras,  friend  and  pre- 
ceptor of  Pericles,  whose  teachings  it  was  asserted 
were  opposed  to  belief  in  the  gods  as  conceived  by  the 
theogeny  taught  by  the  priests  in  the  sacred  temples, 
became  a  capital  offense.  This  legislation  was  aimed 
at  Anaxagoras  who  was  universally  esteemed  for  his 
knowledge  and  attainments,  and  his  discoveries  in 
mathematics  and  astronomy.  He  taught  that  the 
physical  universe  was  the  work  of  design  and  did  not 
come  by  chance.  These  teachings  brought  him  into 
disfavor  with  the  superstitious  and  ignorant  and  gave 
the  enemies  of  Pericles  a  powerful  weapon. 

Before  the  conspirators  could  secure  an  indictment 
against  this  distinguished  man,  Pericles  succeeded  in 


ASPASIA   INDICTED  625 

persuading  him  to   escape  and   seek  a   refuge   in   the 
shores  of  the  Hellespont  at  Lampsacus,  in  Mysia. 

These  malcontents  then  attacked  Phidias  who  built 
the  Parthenon.  He  was  charged  with  peculation  for 
having  embezzled  the  gold  entrusted  to  him  with  which 
to  adorn  the  statues  and  works  of  art  in  the  Parthenon. 
Pericles  demonstrated  the  falsity  of  these  accusations 
by  taking  off  the  gold  plates  from  the  marble,  bronze 
and  ivory  image  of  Athene,  the  most  imposing  piece  of 
sculpture  in  Greece.  He  weighed  the  gold  in  the  pres- 
ence of  his  accusers  and  it  was  found  to  be  of  the 
requisite  weight  and  fineness. 

But  not  content  with  the  failure  to  sustain  the  charge 
of  embezzlement,  the  great  sculptor  was  accused  of 
impiety  for  having  traced  in  a  group  of  figures 
wrought  upon  the  shield  of  the  goddess  the  lineaments 
of  human  faces,  said  to  represent  Phidias  and  Pericles. 
He  died  in  prison  awaiting  trial.  Aristophanes  refers 
to  this  incident  in  the  "  Peace,"  a  comedy  produced 
in  Athens,  thus: 

"Phidias  was  the  first  beginning;    his  indictment  and  undoing 
First  alarmed   his   friend  and  patron  for  his   own  approaching 
ruin." 

Next  came  the  blow  that  struck  nearest  the  heart  of 
Pericles.  A  charge  of  heresy  was  brought  against  his 
wife,  Aspasia,  who  might  have  suflTered  the  fate  which 
subsequently  overtook  Socrates,  upon  a  similar  accusa- 
tion, had  not  Pericles,  in  person,  pleaded  her  cause  be- 
fore the  judges  who  presided  at  her  trial.  The  indict- 
ment charged  this  beautiful  and  gifted  woman  as  guilty 
of  the  crime  of  not  acknowledging  the  gods  of  the 
country,  as  having  spoken  irreverently  of  the  sacred 
customs  of  the  Athenians,  and  the  mysteries  of  Eleusis, 
with  having  joined  in  the  debates  of  the  philosophers 
who  denied  the  gods,  coupled  with  malicious  charges  of 
immodesty  and  immorality.     The  punishment  of  death 


626 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


was  invoked  under  the  statute.  Hermippus  a  comic 
poet,  and  friend  of  Aristophanes,  who  had  in  his  plays 
libelled  not  only  Aspasia,  but  Pericles  as  well,  was 
chosen  to  prosecute  the  indictment,  with  the  assistance 
and  moral  support  of  Diopithes,  priest  of  the  temple 
of  Erechtheus. 

Under  the  constitution  as  it  then  existed,  it  seems 
that  the  trial  was  conducted  not  in  the  court  of  the 
Areopagus,  but   before   the   Archon    Basilous   and  his 
associate   archons,   and   a    panel   of   dikasts.      Pericles 
could  trust  no  one  but  himself  with  the  conduct  of  the 
defense.     The  fate  of  the  accused  was  to  him  dearer 
than  life,  and  he  determined  to  sacrifice  himself,  and  if 
necessary,  to  share  her  fate.     After  the  evidence  was 
all  in,  and  Hermippus  had  concluded  his  bitter  arraign- 
ment, Pericles,  pale  and  anxious,  arose  and  addressed 
the  magistrates  and  the  dikasts.     His  argument  before 
that  tribunal  has  not  been  preserved  but  we  may  be 
justified  in  the  assumption  that  he  dwelt  first  on  the 
element  of  intent.      He  contended  for  acquittal  upon 
the  ground  that  there  could  be  no  conviction  in  the 
absence   of  criminal   intent,   and   that   the   essence   of 
every  crime  was  a  guilty  mind.     The  conduct  of  the 
accused  must  be  viewed  in  the  light  of  what  she  sought 
to  accomplish.     The  purpose  of  philosophical  discus- 
sion was  not  intended  to  treat  the  deity  with  disrespect 
or  to  malign  the  gods,  but  to  enlighten  and  broaden 
the  intellect  and  apply  the  test  of  reason  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  mysteries  involved  in  the  manifestations 
of  nature,  and  the  solution  of  the  problems  which  re- 
late to  the  supernatural. 

If  the  prisoner  was  guilty  of  the  charge  of  impiety, 
he  declared,  then  he  was  guilty  also  of  the  same  offense 
and  reminded  the  court  that  if  they  should  convict  his 
wife,  they  must  also  convict  her  husband  as  her  accom- 
plice. Every  word  he  uttered  came  from  his  heart, 
prompted  by  the  tenderest  feelings  of  affection.     He 


PERICLES    CONDUCTS    THE    DEFENSE 


(i2^ 


was  unable  to  control  his  emotions  and  it  is  said  the 
great  orator  and  dignified  statesman  wept. 

"  Now  is  that  noble  vessel  full  of  grief, 
That  it  runs  over,  even  at  his  eyes." 

He  reminded  his  accusers,  as  Hammerling  observes, 
that  he  had  erected  the  superb  temples  that  adorned 
their  city,  and  through  his  influence  the  sacred  images 
on  the  Acropolis  and  within  the  sacred  precincts  of 
Eleusis  were  carved  and  adorned  with  infinite  pains. 
Did  these  superb  masterpieces  indicate  impiety.?  He 
had  fought  the  battles  of  the  republic,  destroyed  the 
power  of  the  oligarchy,  established  a  democracy  and 
secured  the  liberties  of  the  people.  The  result  of  a  life 
of  patriotic  devotion  tended  to  lessen  rather  than  in- 
crease the  growth  of  contentment  and  morality,  and 
to  inculcate  a  love  of  the  refined  and  beautiful.  In  all 
his  work  for  the  public  weal  and  general  welfare  of  the 
citizens  of  Athens,  his  wife,  the  intellectual  and  gifted 
woman  now  on  trial  for  her  life,  was  his  enthusiastic 
helpmate,  and  much  of  what  had  been  accomplished 
was  due  to  her..  In  view  of  these  facts  it  would  be  in- 
human and  monstrous  to  tear  from  the  breast  of  Per- 
icles his  lawfully  wedded  wife,  and  drag  her  to  destruc- 
tion before  his  eyes,  at  the  behest  of  Hermippus,  who 
had  rendered  no  service  to  the  state  and  nothing  that 
would  reflect  credit  upon  him  as  a  public  man. 

His  impassioned  address  kindled  enthusiasm  among 
his  hearers,  when  they  reflected  on  the  public  services 
conferred  upon  the  electorate  by  the  son  of  Xanthip- 
pus.  His  illustrious  ancestor  they  remembered  was  the 
hero  of  Sestus  and  Mycale,  the  final  military  achieve- 
ments of  the  Persian  Wars,  undertaken  by  Darius  and 
Xerxes.  His  pleadings  went  to  the  hearts  of  his  coun- 
trymen, and  when  the  pebbles  which  the  jurymen  had 
cast  in  delivering  their  verdict  were  taken  from  the 
urns,  the  white,  which  indicated  life,  far  outnumbered 


628 


MIUTABT   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


the  black,  which  were  indicative  of  death.  Pericles  had 
secured  the  acquittal  of  his  wife,  and  achieved  the 
greatest  triumph  in  his  long  and  successful  career. 
His  persecutors  were  confounded  and  chagrined,  but 
were  determined  to  ruin  their  enemy. 


THE  SAMIAN   WAE 


PERICLES   AND   A8PASIA 


The  sound  of  the  sea,  the  sway  of  the  song,  the  s^ing  of  the  oar! 
Out  of  the  darkness,  over  the  naked  seas, 

Our  galley  Is  come. 

With  a  shiver  and  leap, 

As  the  blade  bites  deep 
To  the  sway  of  back  and  the  bend  of  knees. 

As  she  drives  for  home 
Out  of  the  darkness,  over  the  naked  seas. 

To  the  sound  of  the  sea,  and  the  sway  of  song,  and  the  sweep  of 
oar.* 

Pericles  now,  B.  C.  440,  had  attained  his  sixty-first 
year  and  reached  the  zenith  of  his  fame.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  a  quarrel  arose  between  Miletus  and  the 
island  of  Samos,  as  to  which  should  govern  Priene,  a 
city  in  Ionia  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  gulf  of  Lade, 
directly  opposite  the  city  of  Miletus  on  the  south  shore. 
The  Samians  claimed  the  right  by  reason  of  their 
ownership  of  territory  on  the  mainland  adjacent  to 
Priene.  It  was  of  no  particular  consequence  to  the 
people  of  Athens  whether  Samos  or  Miletus  governed 
the  destinies  of  this  Ionian  city.  But  a  political  ques- 
tion was  involved.  If  the  Samians  prevailed,  then  the 
government  of  Priene  would  be  democratic.  If  Miletus 
succeeded,  then  it  would  be  oligarchic.  Priene,  of 
course,  was  not  permitted  to  choose,  so  that  the  quar- 
rel involved  only  Samos  and  Miletus.  They  were  both 
members  of  the  Delian  Confederacy.  Neither  would 
yield  and  a  new  war  ensued  in  which  the  Milesians  were 


*The  Greek  Galley.  —  Lodge. 


WAE   WITH   SAMOS 


629 


worsted.  The  latter  then,  notwithstanding  she  had  ap- 
pealed to  the  sword  and  lost,  now  appealed  to  Athens 
to  decide  the  quarrel,  upon  the  plea  that  under  the 
articles  of  the  Delian  League,  the  latter  had  jurisdic- 
tion and  authority  to  hear  and  decide  the  controversy. 
The  democrats  in  Samos  joined  the  democrats  in  Mile- 
tus to  invoke  the  aid  of  Athens,  to  settle  the  dispute. 
The  Samians,  on  the  other  hand,  claimed  that  Miletus 
had  elected  to  appeal  to  arms,  and  was  bound  by  its 
election,  and  that  it  was  now  too  late  for  Athens  to 
intervene  to  reverse  the  arbitrament  of  war.  For  this 
reason  they  urged  that  the  provisions  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  Confederacy  of  Delos  were  no  longer  ap- 
plicable. They  therefore  refused  to  arbitrate  with 
Athens  as  umpire.  The  Athenians  decided  that  their 
authority  had  been  challenged  and  in  order  to  sustain 
their  power  and  dignity  declared  that  the  failure  of 
the  Samians  to  submit  to  their  jurisdiction  was  a  viola- 
tion of  their  treaty  relations,  and  made  war  against 
Samos.  There  were  some  who  declared  that  Pericles 
induced  the  Public  Assembly  to  declare  war  to  please 
Aspasia,  the  beautiful  Milesian,  with  whom  he  sustained 
marital  relations,  although  by  the  laws  of  Athens  he 
was  forbidden  to  marry  her,  by  reason  of  the  fact  of 
her  foreign  birth. 

The  war  with  Samos,  therefore,  became  memorable, 
because  it  throws  light  on  the  morals  of  the  age  and 
reveals  not  only  incidents  in  the  private  life  of  Pericles, 
but  discloses  also  the  character  of  Athenian  juris- 
prudence as  it  existed  at  that  period,  with  respect  to 
the  laws  of  marriage  and  divorce.  It  demonstrates, 
also,  the  power  exercised  by  Pericles,  who  was  able  to 
secure  the  election  of  his  friend  and  intimate,  Sopho- 
cles, one  of  the  great  poets  of  antiquity  as  strategus  to 
assist  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  Pericles  desired 
the  company  of  this  gifted  man,  while  engaged  in  the 
enterprise.      At  his   suggestion,   the  Public  Assembly 


630 


MILITAEY   ANNALS   OF    GEEECE 


elected  to  a  high  military  office  of  great  responsibility, 
this  man  of  genius,  although  there  seems  to  be  nothing 
to  show  that  he  was  or  claimed  to  be  proficient  in  the 
art  of  war.  Nevertheless,  history  relates  that  he  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  his  office  with  great  ability  and 
contributed  to  the  success  of  the  war. 

The  laws  of  Athens  were  strict  as  to  the  proprieties 
governing  the  conduct  of  Athenian  women,  wives  and 
daughters  of  Athenian  citizens.  They  were  compelled 
to  hve  in  practical  seclusion,  both  before  and  after 
marriage.  Marriages  were  arranged  and  negotiated 
by  the  near  male  relatives  of  the  bride.  The  wife's 
activities,  as  a  rule,  were  confined  to  the  management 
of  the  household.  They  did  not  receive  the  mental 
training  to  fit  them  for  literary  pursuits,  and  to  enable 
them  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  polite  learning.  They 
were  not  so  engaging  and  attractive  in  polite  society, 
as  to  hold  the  attentions  of  men  of  culture  and  refine- 
ment of  that  age,  when  philosophy,  literature  and  art 
were  cultivated  as  in  no  other  country. 

If  the  married  state  became  irksome,  the  law  per- 
mitted the  dissolution  of  the  marriage  contract  by 
mutual  consent,  upon  such  terms  and  conditions  as 
might  be  agreed  upon  by  the  male  relatives  of  the  re- 
spective parties. 

The  manners  of  the  age,  however,  permitted  and  en- 
couraged a  class  of  free  women  in  Athens  to  relieve  the 
monotony  of  rigid  social  conditions,  composed  chiefly 
of  foreigners;  that  is,  those  who  did  not  possess  the 
good  fortune  to  have  been  born  within  the  limited  con- 
fines of  Attica.  These  women,  known  generally  as  cour- 
tesans, came  from  the  luxurious  cities  of  Ionia,  at- 
tracted by  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  commercial 
Athens.  In  this  class  were  frequently  found  women 
famed  for  their  beauty  and  accomplishments,  who 
found  it  not  difficult  to  win  the  attentions,  and  gain  the 
affections  of  eminent  men,  and  were  enabled  thereby  to 


ASPASIA 


631 


obtain  a  subtle  and  dangerous  influence  in  state  affairs 
and  the  political  intrigues  of  the  day.  During  the 
Persian  Wars  the  beautiful  and  accomplished  Targelia 
of  Miletus  was  noted  for  the  part  she  played  in  aid  of 
the  Persian  cause. 

In  the  time  of  Pericles,  Aspasia,  above  referred  to, 
also  a  Milesian,  won  the  heart  of  that  distinguished 
man,  and  occupied  the  chief  place  in  his  affections. 
His  devotion  was  constant  until  death  dissolved  the 
golden  chains  with  which  Cupid  bound  them. 

It  was  at  the  country  seat  of  Sophocles,  situated 
about  a  mile  from  Athens  on  the  banks  of  the  Cephis- 
sus,  in  the  peaceful  valley  watered  by  that  sylvan 
stream  surrounded  by  olive  groves,  climbing  vines  and 
shady  walks,  interspersed  with  fragrant  bowers  and 
parterres  of  roses,  that  Pericles  wooed  the  only  woman 
he  ever  loved.  Their  constancy  and  devotion,  it  is  said, 
inspired  the  poet  when  he  wrote  Antigone,  a  tragedy  in 
which  he  describes  in  immortal  lines  the  power  of  love. 

Mighty  power,  all  powers  above! 
Great,  unconquerable  Love. 
Thou  who  liest  in  dimple  sleek, 
On  the  tender  virgin's  cheek. 

Venus  wills  it  from  above. 
Great,  unconquerable  Love. 

All,  thy  maddening  influence  know, 
Gods  above,  and  men  below. 
All  thy  powers  resistless  prove, 
Great,  unconquerable  Love. 


Aspasia  was  universally  conceded  to  be  the  most 
gifted  woman  of  her  age,  renowned  not  only  for  her 
beauty,  but  for  her  rare  intellectual  accomplishments 
and  literary  attainments.  The  artists  and  poets,  the 
philosophers  and  statesmen  of  that  brilliant  age,  the 
most  illustrious  in  history,  were  attracted  by  her  genius 
and  eagerly   sought  her  society.     They  attended  her 


632 


MILITAKT   ANNALS    OF    6B££CE 


receptions  and  entertainments  to  listen  to  her  dis- 
courses on  subjects  which  received  the  attention  of 
Socrates  and  Anaxagoras,  of  PoHgnotus  and  Phidias, 
of  Pericles  and  Sophocles,  and  others  of  the  circle  of 
the  eminent  men  of  her  time.  We  may  judge  some- 
what of  her  unusual  intellectual  power,  when  we  reflect 
that  such  men  were  attracted  by  her  genius,  and  while 
she  was  but  the  female  companion  of  Pericles  and  lived 
with  him,  nevertheless  they  attended  with  their  wives 
and  families,  and  listened  with  pleasure  and  wonder  to 
her  lectures  and  discussions  on  philosophy,  literature 
and  art. 

Sophocles,  the  author  of  Antigone,  above  referred 
to,  whose  dramatic  poems  continue  to  delight  men  of 
refinement  and  culture;  Phidias,  the  greatest  sculptor 
of  antiquity;  Socrates,  whose  fame  as  a  philosopher, 
after  the  lapse  of  more  than  twenty  centuries  remains 
undimmed,  and  other  great  men  whose  talents  gave  en- 
during renown  to  the  age  of  Pericles,  acknowledged 
the  superior  gifts  of  this  remarkable  woman.  Her 
fame  is  linked  with  theirs.  The  slanders  heaped  upon 
her  by  the  political  enemies  of  her  husband  are  entirely 
discredited,  when  we  reflect  that  if  she  was  admired 
solely  by  reason  of  her  personal  charms,  her  name  and 
fame  with  nothing  better  upon  which  to  rest  would  not 
have  survived  her  own  generation. 

Pericles,  though  fortunate  in  his  pubhc  career,  was 
most  unhappy  in  his  marriage.  His  wife,  Teliseppe, 
was  nearly  related  to  him.  Before  her  marriage  to 
Pericles,  she  had  been  the  wife  of  Hipponicus,  one  of 
the  wealthiest  men  in  Athens  from  whom  she  was 
divorced,  and  her  subsequent  marriage  to  Pericles  had 
been  arranged  according  to  custom  and  convenience, 
and  was  governed  by  family  considerations.  Love  was 
not  a  factor  in  the  affair.  Teliseppe  bore  him  two 
sons,  the  elder  was  named  Xanthippus  for  his  paternal 
grandfather.     Paralus  was  the  name  of  the  younger. 


LAW    OF    LEGITIMACY  633 

Aspasia  also  bore  him  a  son,  to  whom  his  father  gave 
his  own  name.  This  son  became  distinguished  as  a 
military  man.  He  was  one  of  the  strategi  in  command 
of  the  fleet  at  Arginussp,  and  after  defeating  the  Pel- 
oponnesians  was  subsequently,  with  other  of  his  fellow 
generals,  unjustly  put  to  death  by  his  ungrateful 
countrymen. 

It    is    a    strange   coincidence   that   Pericles    himself 
erected  the  barrier  that  operated  as  a  bar  to  his  do- 
mestic happiness.     When  he  was  at  the  height  of  his 
power,  having  two  legitimate  sons  living,  prompted  by 
vanity  and  arrogance,  he  proposed  a  law  defining  citi- 
zenship.    The  statute  declared  that  no  one  should  be 
reputed  a  true  citizen  of  Athens  unless  he  could  prove 
that  both  his  parents  were  Athenians ;    that  is  to  say, 
born  within  the  confines  of  Attica.     There  is  one  phase 
of  this  statute  which  ill  comports  with  the  manners  of 
that  enlightened  age.     It  was  tested  on  an  occasion 
when   the   king   of   Egypt   sent   some   forty   thousand 
bushels  of  wheat  to  be  distributed  pro-rata  among  the 
Athenians.     The  courts  at  once  became  congested  with^ 
litigation  involving  the  question  of  citizenship  or  legit- 
imacy under  the  statute.     Many  suff'ered  by  reason  of 
false  accusations.     Plutarch  says  that  a  little  less  than 
five  thousand  persons  were  convicted,  unable  to  make 
a  case  in  conformity  with  the  required  test  as  to  pa- 
rentage.    He  declares  that  these  unfortunate  litigants 
were  sold  into  slavery.     Certainly  this  severe  punish- 
ment could  not  attach  under  the  statute  to  any  person 
by  reason  of  the  accident  of  birth.     It  is  inconceivable 
that  any  civilized  legislative  body  would  enact  a  law  of 
that  character,  whereby  a  man  could  be  declared  guilty 
of  a  crime  simply  for  being  bom.    The  punishment  re- 
ferred to  by  Plutarch,  which  required  that  the  guilty 
party  be  sold  into  slavery,  must  have  resulted  by  reason 
of  some  act  involving  false  accusations,  or  wilful  and 
corrupt  perjury,  committed  in  order  to  enable  the  party 


'  •■ 


!    1 


m 


634 


MILITAEY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


to  share  in  benefits  to  which  he  knew  he  was  not  en- 
titled. 

However  this  may  be,  certain  it  is  that  under  the 
law  Pericles  was  forbidden  to  marry  Aspasia,  who  was 
not  an  Athenian,  after  his  divorce  from  Teliseppe,  and 
that  his  youngest  son  Pericles  was  illegitimate  for  the 
same  reason.  When  the  plague  was  at  its  height  Per- 
icles lost  both  of  his  legitimate  sons,  whereby  he  was 
left  childless  in  his  old  age.  But  when  the  great  states- 
man, in  the  last  year  of  his  life,  was  acquitted  of  the 
charges  preferred  against  him  by  his  enemies,  and  was 
induced  to  accept  again  the  office  of  strategus,  he  asked 
the  Public  Assembly  to  repeal  the  law  defining  citizen- 
ship, which  he  himself  caused  to  be  enacted.  He  also 
asked  that  his  son  Pericles  should  be  enrolled  as  a  citi- 
zen of  Athens  with  full  rights  and  privileges,  and  that 
his  union  with  Aspasia  should  be  legalized.  These  re- 
quests w^ere  granted  by  the  Public  Assembly,  who  were 
eager  once  more  to  secure  the  advice,  guidance  and 
leadership  of  this  remarkable  man. 

Pericles  conducted  the  war  against  Samos  with  un- 
failing energy  and  in  the  incredibly  short  space  of  nine 
months  had  succeeded  in  reducing  the  Samians  to  com- 
plete subjection.  The  war  involved  a  formidable  task, 
and  threatened  to  become  a  serious  menace  to  the 
power  of  Athens.  Byzantium  rebelled.  The  Persian 
monarch  opened  his  treasury  and  sent  a  Phoenician 
fleet  to  aid  the  Samians.  But  the  skill,  vigilance  and 
superior  abilities  of  Pericles  were  more  than  a  match 
for  Greeks,  Phoenicians  and  Persians.  The  Thirty 
Years'  Peace  held  the  Lacedaemonians  in  check,  al- 
though there  seemed  to  be  considerable  difference  of 
opinion  among  the  Pcloponnesians  as  to  whether 
Athens  had  the  right  to  discipline  her  independent 
allies.  In  this  discussion  Corinth  sustained  the  author- 
ity of  Athens  and  aided  her  materially  in  inducing  the 
Laceda?monians  to  remain  neutral.      Subsequently  the 


INFLUENCE    OF    ASPASIA  63S 

Corinthians  complained  bitterly  of  Pericles,  and 
charged  him  with  ingratitude  because  he  advocated  the 
cause  of  Corcyra,  a  daughter  city  of  Corinth,  whom 
the  latter  sought  to  discipline,  and  because  the  Athe- 
nians aided  the  Corcyrians  at  the  battle  of  Sybota. 

The  Samian  War  was  regarded  as  the  greatest  mili- 
tary achievement  of  Pericles,  and  added  materially  to 
his  great  reputation.  He  was  wont  to  observe  that 
Agamemnon  consumed  ten  years  in  taking  a  barbarous 
city,  but  in  nine  months  he  had  conquered  the  Samians, 
the  greatest  and  most  powerful  of  the  lonians. 

It  has  been  claimed  by  some  authorities  that  Pericles 
brought  about  the  war  to  please  Aspasia.  There 
seems  to  be  no  ground  for  this  assumption;  but  we 
are  justified  in  the  belief  that  Pericles  was  delighted 
that  the  opportunity  was  afforded  him  to  make  war, 
not  only  because  he  regarded  it  an  imperative  duty 
to  sustain  the  dignity  and  authority  of  the  Athe- 
nian empire,  but  also  because  it  gave  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  show  his  devotion  and  love  for  Aspasia,  who. 
doubtless  enjoyed  the  keenest  satisfaction  in  seeing 
Pericles  at  the  head  of  an  undertaking  that  would  give 
prestige  and  reflect  glory  upon  her  native  city.  We 
may  assume,  also,  that  Aspasia  used  all  her  influence 
to  aid  the  cause  of  Miletus.  It  is  highly  probable  that 
that  ancient  city,  famed  for  its  scholars  and  philos- 
ophers, and  its  achievements  in  art  and  literature, 
celebrated  also  as  the  home  of  Thales,  one  of  the  seven 
sages  of  antiquity,  was  quick  to  take  advantage  of  the 
position  occupied  by  their  countrywoman,  who  had  wort 
the  love  and  esteem  of  the  most  powerful  man  in 
Athens.  It  is  altogether  probable,  too,  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  embassy  from  Miletus,  who  were  sent  to 
Athens  to  invoke  its  aid  in  her  behalf,  first  held  a 
secret  conference  with  Aspasia.  The  object  of  this 
visit  was  not  only  to  induce  Aspasia  to  use  her  influ- 
ence with  Pericles  to  advocate  the  interests  of  Miletus, 


^  m 


636  MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GKEECB 

but  also  to  ascertain  the  real  views  of  the  popular 
statesman  on  a  subject  so  important. 

The  eminent  scholar,  Walter  Savage  Landor,  has 
written  suppositive  correspondence,  which  presumably 
passed  between  Aspasia,  then  in  Athens,  and  Cleone, 
the  friend  of  her  youth  and  companion  of  her  child- 
hood in  Miletus.  These  fascinating  letters  present  pic- 
tures full  of  lis:ht  and  color,  and  illustrate  how  the 
Samian  War  and  topics  of  public  interest  were  re- 
garded by  Aspasia  and  her  friend  in  Miletus.  In  one 
of  her  letters  Aspasia  refers  to  the  Samian  expedition, 
at  the  time  the  Athenian  fleet  was  about  to  sail  from 
the  Pirffius.     She  writes  (Epistle  CXII) : 

"  Pericles  goes  in  person  to  command  the  expedition 
against  Samos.  He  promises  me  it  will  soon  be  ready 
to  sail,  and  tells  me  to  expect  him  back  again  within  a 
few  months.  Artemon  is  preparing  machines  of  great 
magnitude  for  the  attack  of  the  city.  He  teaches 
me  that  the  Samians  are  brave  and  wealthy,  and  that 
no  city  is  capable  of  such  a  resistance.  Certainly 
never  were  such  preparations.  I  hope,  at  least,  that 
the  report  of  them  will  detain  your  enemies  at  home, 
and  at  all  events  that,  before  they  land,  you  will  leave 
Miletus  and  come  to  me.  The  war  is  very  popular  at 
Athens ;  I  dare  say  it  is  equally  so  at  Samos,  equally 
so  at  Miletus.  Nothing  pleases  men  like  renewing  their 
ancient  alliance  with  the  brutes,  and  breaking  off  the 
more  recent  one  with  their  fellow-creatures. 

"  War,  is  it,  O  gr&ve  heads !   that  yc 
With  stem  and  stately  pomp  decree? 
Inviting  all  the  gods  from  far 
To  join  you  in  the  game  of  war!** 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  we  have  a  letter  from  Mile- 
tus written  by  Cleone  in  which  she  tells  Aspasia  the 
glorious  news  that  the  Samians  had  been  vanquished, 
and  that  Miletus,  with  the  aid  of  Athens,  had  tri- 
umphed.    She  writes  (Epistle  CXVH) : 


: 


LAST   CAMPAIGN    OP   PEEICLES 


637 


*'  Samos  has  fallen.  Pericles  will  have  ^ven  you 
this  information  long  before  my  letter  can  reach  you, 
and  perhaps  the  joy  of  the  light-hearted  Athenians 
will  be  over  ere  then.  So  soon  dies  away  the  satisfac- 
tion of  great  exploits,  even  of  such  as  have  swept  a 
generation  from  before  us,  have  changed  the  fortunes 
of  a  thousand  more,  and  indeed  have  shaken  the  last 
link  in  the  remotest.  We  hear,  but  perhaps  the  esti- 
mate is  exaggerated,  that  the  walls  of  Miletus,  of  Ephe- 
sus,  of  Priene,  are  in  comparison  to  Samos  as  the 
fences  of  a  farm-yard  are  to  them.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  vanquished  fleet  was  more  formidable  than  the 
united  navies  of  Corinth  and  of  Carthage,  which  are 
rated  as  next  in  force  to  the  Athenian." 


THE    PELOPONNESIAN    WAE 


LAST    DAYS   OP    PEEICLES 


Thus  Pericles  recovered  from  his  misfortunes  and 
rose  superior  to  the  malice  and  cunning  of  his  enemies. 
He  pushed  vigorously  his  plans  for  offensive  opera- 
tions against  the  Lacedaemonians,  in  order  thereby  not 
to  divert  the  popular  mind,  but  to  retaliate  for  the 
miseries  his  countrymen  endured  from  the  double 
scourge  of  war  and  pestilence.  A  fleet  was  fitted  out 
which  he  commanded  in  person,  with  which  he  made  a 
descent  upon  the  Peloponnesus. 

A  notable  fact  in  this  connection  is  exhibited  by  the 
energy  and  determination  displayed  by  Pericles  in 
planning  his  last  campaign.  He  was  in  his  sixty-ninth 
year,  but  he  pushed  forward  his  military  preparations 
with  his  old  time  ardor  and  enthusiasm.  Archidamus, 
at  the  head  of  a  marauding  army,  was  in  Attica.  The 
plague  which  had  raged  in  Athens  for  months  was  at 
its  height.  Nothing  daunted  by  these  misfortunes, 
Pericles  decided  that  as  soon  as  the  enemy  returned  to 
the  Peloponnesus,  he  would  follow  close  in  their  wake, 
and  bum   and  destroy  their  coast  towns,  and  inflict 


638 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


VICTORIES    OF    PHORMIO 


^39 


upon  the  Lacedaemonians  all  the  damage  possible.  To 
this  end  he  fitted  out  an  expedition  comprising  a  fleet 
of  one  hundred  triremes,  having  on  board  four  thou- 
sand Athenian  hoplites  and  three  hundred  cavalry  con- 
veyed in  horse  transports,  constructed  for  the  first 
time  by  the  Athenians  out  of  their  old  ships.  The  ex- 
pedition was  joined  by  fifty  ships  from  Chios  and  Les- 
bos and  a  multitude  of  alHed  troops. 

No  armament  so  magnificent  or  costly  had  ever  been 
sent  out  by  any  single  Hellenic  power.     The  expedition 
dispatched  by  the  Athenians  to  Syracuse  fifteen  years 
later  was  not  superior.     The  year  before,  Pericles,  at 
the  head  of  an  army  of  13,000  hoplites  devastated  the 
Megarid.     Now,  as  admiral,  with  a  formidable  fleet, 
he  was  about  to  descend  upon  the  Peloponnesus.     Just 
as  soon  as  the  forces  of  Archidamus  reached  their  own 
country,  Pericles  set  sail,  directing  his   course  south- 
west, across  the  Saronic  Gulf.     He  sailed  about  forty 
miles  and  made  a  descent  on  Epidaurus,  on  the  eastern 
coast  of  Argolis.     He  devastated  the  adjacent  coun- 
try and  attacked  the  city,  but  did  not  succeed  in  taking 
it.     From  thence  he  proceeded  south  and  attacked  the 
cities  TrcBzen,  Halieis  and  Hermione,  all  in  the  State 
of  Argolis.     He  sailed  thence  and  attacked  Prasiae,  in 
the  State  of  Laconia.     The  season  being  now  far  ad- 
vanced he  returned  to  Attica.     During  his  absence  his 
enemies  tried  to   discredit  him,  by  sending  envoys  to 
Sparta  to  sue  for  peace,  but  owing  to  the  vigorous  and 
destructive   campaign   then   being  prosecuted  by  Per- 
icles,   the   Lacedaemonians    dismissed   these    envoys,    as 
Pericles  had  formerly  dismissed  Melanippus,  the  envoy 
sent  to  Athens  by  Archidamus,  at  the  beginning  of  the 


war. 


On  his  return  from  this  campaign,  the  last  he  was 
destined  to  conduct,  he  found  that  public  feeling  had 
been  wrought  to  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement  against 


I 


He  convened  the  Public  Assembly  and  made  a  vigor- 
ous defense  of  his  conduct  and  policy  and  mercilessly 
attacked  his  rivals.^  His  superior  intellectual  gifts 
easily  gave  him  the  victory.  The  Assembly  were  car- 
ried away  by  the  eloquence  and  remarkable  courage 
displayed  by  Pericles.  He  was  restored  to  favor,  and 
was  again  elected  strategus  and  regained  his  old  time 
influence  and  popularity. 

These  matters  occupied  Pericles  during  the  winter 
months.  He  was  vexed  by  a  suit  for  an  accounting  in- 
stigated by  his  enemies.  This  litigation  took  place  that 
winter  or  in  the  following  spring,  B.  C.  429.  The 
season  advanced,  summer  came,  but  Pericles,  owing  to 
the  charges  and  accusations  he  was  called  upon  to 
meet,  was  unable  to  take  up  the  sword  in  defense  of  his 

country. 

During  this  third  summer  of  the  struggle  between 
Sparta  and  Athens,  and  their  respective  allies,  the 
theatre  of  war  shifted.  Military  operations  were  ex- 
tended over  a  vast  expanse  of  territory  in  localities 
extremely  remote.  Archidamus,  doubtless  fearing  that 
his  troops  might  become  infected  by  the  pestilence 
raging  in  Athens,  refrained  from  invading  Attica.  He 
led  his  army  into  Boeotia  at  the  behest  of  his  allies  in 
Thebes,  and  began  the  siege  of  Plataea,  in  territory 
which  since  the  defeat  of  Mardonius,  half  a  century 
earlier,  was  consecrated  by  Hellas  as  hallowed  ground, 
in  memory  of  that  event.  Phormio,  whose  services 
were  no  longer  required  in  the  Chalcidice,  after  the 
surrender  of  Potidea,  was  stationed  at  Naupactus  with 
an  Athenian  fleet,  to  guard  the  entrance  to  the  gulf 
of  Corinth.  Here  he  performed  services  and  won  vic- 
tories as  a  naval  commander,  which  made  for  him  a 
reputation,  whereby  his  name  was  thought  worthy  to 
be  associated  with  Themistocles  and  Cimon.     He  de- 


^Thucyd.  ii,  60. 


640 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


feated  the  Ambraciots,  assisted  by  the  barbarous  tribes 
from  Epirus,  and  their  Peloponnesian  allies,  led  by 
Brasidas,  in  their  campaign  to  reduce  Acarnania,  in  the 
hope  to  secure  control  also  of  the  important  islands 
of  Zacjnithus  and  Cephallenia,  which  commanded  the 
entrance  to  the  Corinthian  gulf. 

In  the  north  Xenophon,  son  of  Euripides,  with  two 
colleagues,  was  in  command  of  the  Athenian  forces 
conducting  operation  against  Spartolus,  in  Bottice  in 
the  Chalcidian  peninsula.  He  was  subsequently  as- 
signed to  conduct  a  campaign  in  Macedonia,  in  con- 
junction with  the  Thracian  prince  Sitalces,  to  humili- 
ate and  defeat  Perdiccas,  who,  in  consequence  of  the 
aid  he  had  given  the  Potideans  incurred  the  displeas- 
ure of  the  Athenians. 

Pericles,  for  the  reasons  stated  above,  was  unable 
to  take  any  active  part  in  these  campaigns.  After  his 
successful  expedition  the  previous  autumn  in  Argolis, 
in  which  he  made  a  descent  upon  Epidaurus  and  towns 
in  the  Peloponnesus,  his  enemies,  jealous  of  his  achieve- 
ments, as  has  been  observed,  sued  him  for  an  account- 
ing as  to  the  moneys  expended  by  him  in  these  military 
operations,  and  he  was  forced  to  pay  a  fine  of  some 
fifty  talents  ($50,000)  in  consequence  of  the  unjust 
and  malicious  accusations  of  his  enemies  led  by  the 
notorious  Cleon. 

But  the  people  led  away  by  the  false  clamor  of 
demagogues  soon  repented  of  their  rash  conduct  and 
unjust  treatment  of  Pericles.  Before  the  end  of  the 
summer  they  realized  their  mistake  and  hastened  to 
make  amends  by  again  electing  him  to  the  office  of 
strategus,  and  conferred  upon  him  even  greater  au- 
thority than  had  formerly  been  accorded  him.  Per- 
icles responded  to  this  tardy  act  of  justice  on  the  part 
of  his  countrymen,  and  again  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  his  office. 

The  summer  was  now  spent,  and  the  glorious  Sep- 


DEATH    OF    PEEICLES 


641 


tember  days  had  come.     The  pestilence  had  almost  run 
its   course.      Many   were   recovering   from   its   effects. 
It  was  no  longer  epidemic.     Pericles  had  now  reached 
the  age  of  three  score  and  ten;    had  made  his  last 
campaign,   and   fought  his   last  battle.      He   had   re- 
cently suffered  bereavement  in  the  loss  of  his   sister 
and  his  two  sons,  Paralus,  who  loved  him,  and  Xan- 
thippus,  who  loved  him  not.     Many  close  friends,  who 
had  aided  him  politically  and  upon  whose  friendship 
and  loyalty  he  could  rely,  had  passed  from  the  scenes 
of  earth.     Many  friends  and  admirers,  it  is  true,  still 
remained,  but,  save  for  his  wife,  and  little  Pericles,  the 
son  Aspasia  bore  him,  his  home  was  indeed  desolate. 
The  nervous  strain,  occasioned  by  the  exciting  scenes 
through  which  he  passed  and  the  trials  brought  on  by 
the   ingratitude   and   scandalous   behavior   of   the   idle 
and  vicious,  led  by  schemers  and  demagogues,  under- 
mined his  strength.     He  became  ill.     The  distemper 
from  which  he  suffered  was  not  accompanied  by  violent 
symptoms  and  raging  fever,  which  were  characteristic 
of  the  plague.      The   disease  from  which  he   suffered 
slowly  consumed  his  strength  and  energy,  and  in  the 
autumn,   B.    C.    429,   he   passed   away   surrounded  by 
friends  and  admirers.     Aspasia  was  with  him,  nursed 
him  through  his  illness,  and  proved  her  constancy  and 
devotion  by  the  tender  and  loving  care  she  bestowed 
upon  the  sufferer.     He  lived  long  enough  to  learn  of 
the  great  success  achieved  by  Phormio  at  Naupactus. 
Doubtless  the  war  news,  brought  to  his  sick  chamber 
from  time  to  time,  conveyed  tidings   of  his  victories 
over   Brasidas,   and  the   defeat   of  the  expedition   to 
reduce    Acarnania.      These    glorious    messages    glad- 
dened the  last  days  of  the  great  statesman  and  patriot 
under  whose   wise   administration   Athens   became   the 
most    renowned    city    in    the    world.      When    Pericles 
passed  from  the  stage  of  action,  the  glory  of  Athens 
began  to  decline,  and  it  was  destined  never  to  regain 


MILITARY    ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


the  pround  eminence  which  it  attained  through  the 
genius  of  this  remarkable  man. 

We  get  a  closer  view  of  the  personality  and  kindly 
disposition  of  the  illustrious  statesman  from  an  inci- 
dent Plutarch  relates  of  him,  during  his  last  illness. 
We  give  it  as  Landor  interprets  it.  One  day  a  friend 
who  visited  him  noticed,  as  he  raised  his  head  from  the 
pillow,  that  he  wore  a  charm  suspended  from  a  cord 
about  his  neck.  Seeing  the  interest  manifested  by  his 
companion,  Pericles  smiled  faintly,  and  said,  "  I  need 
not  warn  you  against  superstition ;  it  was  never  among 
my  weaknesses.  Do  not  wonder  at  these  anmlets; 
above  all  do  not  order  them  to  be  removed.  The  kind 
old  nurses,  who  have  been  carefully  watching  over  me 
day  and  night,  are  persuaded  that  these  will  save  my 
life.  After  the  good  patient  creatures  have  found, 
as  they  must  soon,  all  their  traditional  charms  un- 
availing, they  will  surely  grieve  enough  and  perhaps 
find  some  other  motive  than  their  fallibility  in  science. 
Inflict  not  a  fresh  wound  upon  their  grief  by  throwing 
aside  the  tokens  of  their  affection." 

Landor,  in  a  supposed  letter  of  Pericles,  written  to 
his  wife  when  he  was  about  to  die,  gives  a  brief  survey 
of  his  career,  naming  the  eminent  men  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact,  whose  attainments  contributed  to  the 
illustrious  age,  which  bore  his  name.  In  this  letter 
he  observes  what  might  be  taken  as  his  behef  in  im- 
mortality, that  the  happy  never  say,  and  never  hear 
said,  farewell.  He  refers  to  the  fact  that  Damon,  who 
was  his  preceptor  in  music,  called  him  to  the  window 
to  look  at  Aristides  on  his  way  to  exile.  He  remem- 
bered how  his  father  Xanthippus,  as  he  was  walking 
along  one  day,  pressed  the  lad's  wrist,  and  whispered 
in  his  ear,  "  Walk  quickly  by ;  gaze  cautiously ;  it  is 
there  Miltiades  is  in  prison."  When  he  was  a  child 
Pindar  took  him  in  his  arms  when  he  brought  to  the 
house  the  dirge  he  had  composed  for  the  funeral  of  his 


SURVEY  OF  HIS  CAREER 


643 


grandfather.  He  embraced  the  neck  of  iEschylus, 
when  the  latter  was  about  to  depart  for  Sicily.  He 
had  argued  on  eloquence  with  Sophocles,  and  with  Eu- 
ripides on  poetry  and  ethics.  He  was  an  inquirer  and 
sought  to  be  instructed  by  Protagoras  and  Democritus, 
with  Anaxagoras  and  Meton.  He  had  listened  to  He- 
rodotus, read  his  history,  and  heard  Thucydides  dis- 
cuss the  merits  of  the  works  of  that  eminent  historian. 
He  enjoyed  the  esteem  also  of  the  great  sculptor, 
Phidias,  who  built  the  Parthenon  and  placed  within  it 
in  ivory  and  gold  the  tutelary  deity  of  Hellas.  Under 
the  portico  of  Death  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of 
Acron  and  Hippocrates,  the  most  skilful  physicians  of 
his  age,  who  warred  to  overcome  Pestilence  and  Death. 
Landor  thus  concludes  this  interesting  letter: 

"  And  now,  at  the  close  of  my  day,  when  every  light 
is  dim,  and  every  guest  departed,  let  me  own  that  these 
wane  before  me,  remembering  as  I  do,  in  the  pride  and 
fullness  of  my  heart,  that  Athens  confided  her  glory, 
and  Aspasia  her  happiness,  to  me. 

"Have  I  been  a  faithful  guardian?  Do  I  resign 
them  to  the  custody  of  the  gods  undiminished  and  un- 
impaired .^^  Welcome,  then,  welcome  my  last  hour. 
After  enjoying  for  so  great  a  number  of  years,  in  my 
public  and  my  private  life,  what  I  believe  has  never  been 
the  lot  of  any  other,  I  now  extend  my  hand  to  the  urn, 
and  take  without  reluctance  or  hesitation  what  is  the 
lot  of  all." 

The  death  of  Pericles  marked  an  epoch  in  the  his- 
tory of  Greece.  Since  the  Persian  Wars,  when  Darius 
and  Xerxes  attempted  to  conquer  Hellas,  nearly  two 
generations  has  passed.  Prior  to  these  invasions, 
which  exhibited  the  might  of  Persia,  the  Hellenese  had 
enjoyed  a  community  of  language,  customs  and  tradi- 
tions, which  constituted  a  sort  of  national  unity  based 
on  sentiment  alone ;  but  the  hostile  pressure  of  foreign 
fleets  and  armies,  sent  out  to  enslave  them,  created  a 


644 


MILITAEY    ANNALS    OP    GREECE 


necessity  and  generated  a  spirit  of  patriotism  which 
produced  a  power  of  cohesion  among  the  Greeks,  who 
became  united  for  the  purpose  of  self-preservation. 
The  result  was  an  anti-Persian  alliance,  and  Athens 
and  Sparta  fought  together  side  by  side,  at  Plataea  and 
Mycale.  During  this  period  of  Hellenic  unity  were 
produced  the  distinguished  men  prominent  in  public 
affairs  whose  fame  will  live  forever,  Miltiades  and 
Themistocles,  ^schylus  and  Xanthippus,  Aristides  and 
Gimon,  Ephialtes  and  Pericles.  The  flower  of  that 
great  age  perished,  when  Pericles,  the  sole  survivor  of 
those  named,  closed  his  eyes  on  the  scenes  of  earth  and 
the  last  in  the  line  of  these  illustrious  men  was  borne 
to  the  tomb. 

CHAUACTEE    OF    FEBICLES 

In  order  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  the  character  of 
this  eminent  man,  it  will  be  necessary  not  only  to  ex- 
amine his  political  acts  in  the  light  of  his  public  con- 
duct, but  to  discern,  as  far  as  possible,  the  motives  by 
which  he  was  actuated  in  conducting  the  affairs  of 
state,  especially  during  the  closing  years  of  his  ad- 
ministration. A  wide  diversity  of  opinion  exists  among 
the  able  men  who  have  contributed  to  the  subject.  On 
the  one  hand  he  is  blamed  and  severely  criticized  by 
those  who  have  reached  the  conclusion  that  he  plunged 
his  country  into  a  needless  and  destructive  war,  for 
which  they  seek  to  throw  upon  him  alone  all  the  re- 
sponsibility. These  critics  view  the  facts  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  oligarchical  party.  They  display 
considerable  hostility  toward  the  son  of  Xanthippus 
for  the  part  he  took  with  Ephialtes  in  establishing  a 
pure  democracy  in  Athens,  and  in  compassing  the 
humiliation  and  defeat  of  the  great  authority  of 
Cimon. 

On  the  other  hand  eminent  authors,  and  among  them 


HIS    PUBLIC    CONDUCT 


64s 


Grote  and  Curtius,  assert  that  Pericles  was  not  respon- 
sible for  the  Peloponnesian  war,  and  was  not  able  to 
avert  it  without  acceding  to  the  most  humiliating  and 
disgraceful  terms.  They  contend  also  that  the  course 
he  took  in  the  matter  was  wholly  justified.  That  he 
did  right  in  applying  the  revenues  of  the  Delian  Con- 
federacy, after  the  wars  of  Persian  Expulsion  had 
ceased,  to  adorn  and  beautify  Athens. 

The  solution  of  the  interesting  questions  presented 
by  this  discussion  requires  knowledge  of  the  causes 
which  influenced  the  conduct  of  Pericles.  Were  his 
actions  prompted  by  personal  ambition  and  selfish 
aims?  Was  he  actuated  by  a  desire  to  secure  for  him- 
self political  advancement,  and  finally  supreme  control 
in  the  state?  Did  he,  solely  for  his  own  glory,  open 
the  way  for  himself  to  secure  power  and  influence  to 
the  exclusion  of  his  political  rivals,  that  he  might  be 
enabled  to  do  as  his  fancy  dictated,  within  well  defined 
limitations?  Did  he  advocate  a  policy  which  was  ap- 
parently in  harmony  with  an  ideal  republic  or  popular 
democracy,  for  selfish  ends,  as  Plutarch  seems  to  in- 
timate, or  did  he  labor,  like  Aristides,  with  an  eye 
single  to  the  welfare  of  the  people,  to  secure  for  their 
benefit,  "  a  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people 
and  for  the  people,"  best  suited  to  advance  their  wel- 
fare and  happiness?  Was  Pericles  a  benevolent 
despot?  Was  his  boasted  patriotism  prompted  by  self- 
ishness, or  was  he  in  fact,  as  well  as  in  name,  an  al- 
truistic philosopher,  a  statesman,  devoted  solely  to 
the  interests  of  the  masses,  a  friend  of  liberty,  and  a 
foe  of  privilege?  Was  he  a  political  demagogue  seek- 
ing power  by  supporting  a  cause  because  it  was  popu- 
lar without  regard  to  whether  it  was  right,  or  was  he 
a  sincere  patriot  like  Ephialtes,  supporting  a  cause 
because  he  believed  it  was  right? 

The  answer  to  these  inquiries,  at  least  as  to  his 
advocacy  of  democracy,  must  depend  upon  what  Per- 


il 


646 


MIUTABT   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


icles  sincerely  believed  to  be  the  best  form  of  govern- 
ment to  secure  the  integrity  of  a  free  state.  If  he  did 
not  believe  in  a  democracy,  but  considered  that  form 
of  government  best,  in  which  the  few  were  permitted 
to  govern  the  many,  then  his  leadership  of  the  people, 
whereby  he  weakened  and  destroyed  the  rule  of  the 
aristocracy,  threw  open  the  archonship  and  the  an- 
cient tribunal  of  the  Areopagus,  so  as  to  make  any 
citizen  eligible  to  membership  therein;  whereby  he 
founded  in  Attica  an  absolute  democracy  and  gave 
the  masses  "  such  a  copious  and  potent  draft  of  lib- 
erty "  that  they  became  almost  unmanageable,  was  ab- 
solutely inconsistent  with  his  convictions. 

From  the  limited  knowledge  we  possess  concerning 
the  details  of  political  conditions  in  the  age  of  Per- 
icles, it  is  impossible  to  give  a  satisfactory  answer  to 
these  inquiries.  On  the  one  hand  there  are  circum- 
stances which  give  color  to  the  theory  that  Pericles  was 
at  heart  an  imperialist.  That  he  took  the  popular 
side  in  politics,  and  fought  the  battles  of  the  people 
against  privilege,  and  to  secure  their  liberties,  not  be- 
cause he  was  a  democrat,  not  because  he  believed  in 
popular  government,  but  solely  because  Cimon,  the 
great  apostle  of  privilege  and  the  leader  of  the  aris- 
tocracy, at  the  time  Pericles  sought  public  honors, 
was  the  most  powerful  and  influential  man  in  Greece. 
Cimon  stood  in  his  path,  as  an  obstacle  to  his  political 
advancement.  Pericles  believed,  therefore,  that  it  was 
good  politics  to  oppose  whatever  Cimon  advocated,  and 
for  that  reason  he  became  the  great  advocate  of  de- 
mocracy. Cimon  won  distinction  with  the  sword.  His 
unparalleled  success  in  war,  his  achievement  in  driving 
the  Persians  from  Europe,  from  the  islands  of  the 
JEgean  sea,  and  from  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor,  made 
him  a  popular  idol. 

The  notion  that  Pericles  was  not  a  democrat  was 
supported  also  by  the  love  he  displayed  to  secure  im- 


DEMOCEACY   OF    PEEICLES  64/ 

perial  power  and  dominion,  and  his  work  in  rearing  a 
maritime  empire,  a  system  obviously  repugnant  to  the 
idea  of  a  democracy,  and  which  was  consummated  at 
the  expense  of  the  liberties  of  the  constituent  allies 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  imperial  Athens. 

On  the  other  hand  it  is  clear  that  Pericles  guaranteed 
to  every  state  and  municipahty  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Athenian  empire  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment. This  course  we  have  reason  to  believe  was 
prompted  by  a  sincere  conviction  on  the  part  of  Per- 
icles that  a  democracy  was  more  conducive  to  the  public 
welfare  than  an  oligarchy.  It  might  be  argued  that 
when  Athens  built  up  her  land  empire  after  the  battle 
of  CEnophyta,  she  might  have  retained  it  by  permitting 
oligarchies  to  continue,  as  they  had  previously  existed 
in  Boeotia,  Phocis,  Locris  and  other  states.  In  answer 
to  this  theory  it  might  be  urged  that  if  Tolmides  had 
been  successful  at  Coronea,  the  power  of  Athens  in 
Central  and  Northern  Greece  would  not  have  been 
broken.  The  retort  could  be  urged,  that  had  oli- 
garchies been  permitted  instead  of  democracies,  the 
battle  of  Coronea  would  never  have  been  fought.  This 
phase  of  the  subject,  therefore,  must  continue  a  mat- 
ter of  conjecture.  But  the  fact  remains  that  Pericles 
established  democracies  everywhere.  He  made  war  on 
the  island  of  Samos,  it  is  said,  by  some  authorities,  to 
secure  a  democratic  form  of  government  to  the  city  of 
Priene,  on  the  mainland,  after  Miletus  had  attempted 
to  overthrow  the  oHgarchy  which  the  Samians  had  es- 
tablished there.  These  facts  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  Pericles  at  heart  was  a  democrat,  and  not  an  im- 
perialist. 

The  death  of  Aristides  and  the  absence  of  Themis- 
tocles  who  had  been  driven  into  exile,  left  the  field  open 
to  Cimon  with  no  political  party  sufficiently  powerful 
to  successfully  dispute  his  authority.  His  portion  of 
the   spoils    of   war   made   him   the   wealthiest   man   in 


III 


648 


MIUTABY   ANNALS   OF   6EEECS 


Athens.  To  gain  the  esteem  of  the  masses  he  did  not 
advocate  popular  government,  but  was  beloved  by  rea- 
son of  his  generosity  and  prodigality,  whereby  he  made 
the  poor  the  objects  of  his  bounty  and  frequently  in- 
vited the  plain  people  to  sit  at  his  table  and  partake 
of  his  hospitality.  But  Cimon  was  an  imperialist.  He 
was  the  head  of  the  party  of  privilege ;  the  advocate  of 
oligarchy,  rather  than  democracy.  He  held  the  Lace- 
daemonians, the  jealous  rivals  of  the  Athenians,  in  such 
high  esteem  that  the  partiality  he  showed  for  them 
was  used  by  the  political  enemies  of  Cimon  as  a  basis 
for  the  charge  of  disloyalty,  a  charge  which  was  later 
skilfully  used  by  Pericles  to  bring  about  his  banish- 
ment under  a  decree  of  ostracism. 

If  these  facts  are  correct,  then  the  conclusion  is  jus- 
tified that  Pericles  merely  took  advantage  of  circum- 
stances and  seized  the  opportunity  which  presented  it- 
self to  enable  him  to  re^ch  the  goal  of  his  political 
ambition.  He  did  not  sail  under  false  colors  when  he 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  democracy  and  opposed 
Cimon,  because  he  was  the  leader  of  the  opposition. 
Under  the  circumstances,  therefore,  it  was  necessary 
to  defeat  the  great  admiral,  the  champion  of  privilege 
and  head  of  the  conservative  party  in  order  not  only 
to  win  the  applause  of  the  people,  and  to  secure  for 
himself  the  supreme  power  in  the  state,  but  to  estab- 
lish free  government  for  the  Athenians. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  observed  that  the  popu- 
lar notion  with  respect  to  organized  society  implies 
that  the  first  duty  of  the  state  is  to  advance  the  moral 
and  material  interests  of  every  member  of  the  common- 
wealth. That  government  was  designed  primarily  for 
man  in  the  concrete,  not  in  the  abstract,  and  that  the 
power  of  the  state  should  not  be  exploited  for  the 
benefit  of  the  few.  In  that  regard  the  idea  of  a  democ- 
racy was  distinguished  from  the  idea  of  an  oligarchy. 
In  other  words,  the  popular  notion  as  to  what  consti- 


ECONOMIC   CONDmONS 


649 


tuted  civil  liberty,  as  embodied  in  a  democracy,  was  al- 
together repugnant  to  the  idea  which  prevailed  in  an 
oligarchy,  that  in  order  to  secure  privileges  for  the 
few,  government  must  be  privately  owned.  But  Per- 
icles seemed  to  regard  the  power  of  the  state  as  of 
more  importance  than  the  prosperity  of  the  individual. 
He  believed  that  the  material  advancement  and  dignity 
of  the  commonwealth  was  the  first  object  of  govern- 
ment, upon  the  theory  that  the  individual  citizen  was 
benefited  most  as  a  constituent  member  of  a  strong  gov- 
ernment. But  he  also  believed  that  every  citizen  should 
have  a  voice  as  to  the  conduct  of  public  afi^airs.  To 
that  extent  he  was  a  democrat. 

In  this  connection  we  may  note  that  the  economic 
conditions  which  existed  in  his  day  were  different  in 
many  respects  from  those  which  exist  with  us  in  the 
twentieth  century  of  the  Christian  era.  Since  Jeffer- 
son acquired  the  western  confines  of  the  North  Amer- 
ican continent,  and  since  Secretary  Seward  was  instru- 
mental in  acquiring  Alaska,  we  are  not  so  much  con- 
cerned in  questions  involving  territorial  expansion,  in 
questions  of  empire  and  of  imperialism.  The  problems 
which  confront  us  relate  to  the  development  of  our 
material  resources  and  manufactures  in  such  a  way  as 
to  create  wealth,  enlarge  the  field  of  employment  so  as 
to  stimulate  the  growth  of  our  commercial  industries, 
and  multiply  opportunities  to  accumulate  wealth.  We 
are  called  upon  to  solve  problems  with  respect  to  the 
control  and  growth  of  great  combinations  of  capital 
which  threaten  to  destroy  equality  of  opportunity; 
with  questions  relating  to  a  protective  tariff,  whereby 
excessive  duties  might  be  imposed  on  articles  of  com- 
merce with  the  design  to  keep  foreign  commodities  out 
of  the  country  and  thus  by  preventing  imports  from 
abroad  to  create  monopolies  at  home. 

It  may  be  observed,  however,  so  far  as  foreign  com- 
merce was  concerned,  that  while  the  Athenians  did  not 


i( 


Ill 


650 


MILTTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


resort  to  a  protective  tariff  in  order  to  increase  their 
commercial  advantage,  Pericles,  as  an  act  of  retalia- 
tion for  the  conduct  of  Corinth,  in  assisting  the  revolt 
at  Potidea,  secured  a  decree  from  the  Public  Assembly 
putting  an  embargo  upon  certain  foreign  vessels  and 
excluding  the  ships  of  Megara,  an  ally  of  Corinth, 
from  Athenian  ports. 

In  considering  the  character  of  Pericles,  we  may  re- 
gard as  altogether  trustworthy  what  was  said  of  him 
by    his    great    contemporary,    the    eminent    historian 
Thucydides.     His   observations   are   exceedingly  brief, 
but  in  that  regard  they  constitute  the  only  contempo- 
raneous   account    of    any    writer,    whose   works    have 
reached  posterity.     In  this  connection  we  must  remem- 
ber also  that  Rve  centuries  intervened  from  the  time 
Thucydides  wrote  his  history  and  the  period  when  Plu- 
tarch wrote  the  "lives."     "During  the  peace,   while 
Pericles  was  at  the  head  of  affairs,"  says  Thucydides, 
"  he  ruled  with  prudence.     Under  his  guidance  Athens 
was  safe,  and  reached  the  height  of  her  greatness  in 
his    time.      When    the    Peloponneslan    war   began,    he 
showed  that  here  too  he  had  formed  a  true  estimate  of 
the  Athenian  power.     He  survived  the  commencement 
of  hostilities  two  years  and  six  months ;    and,  after  his 
death,  his  foresight  was  even  better  appreciated  than 
during  his  life.     For  he  had  told  the  Athenians  that 
if  they  would  be  patient  and  would  attend  to  their 
navy,  and  not  seek  to  enlarge  their  dominion  while  the 
war  was  going  on,  nor  imperil  the  existence  of  the  city, 
they  would  be  victorious ;   but  they  did  all  that  he  told 
them  not  to  do,  and  in  matters  which  seemingly  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  war,  from  motives  of  private 
ambition  and  private  interest,  they  adopted  a  policy 
which  had  disastrous  effects  in  respect  both  of  them- 
selves and  of  their  allies.     Their  measures,  had  they 
been  successful,  would  only  have  brought  honor  and 
profit  to  individuals,  and,  when  unsuccessful,  crippled 


PERICLES   AND    PISISTRATUS  65 1 

the  city  in  the  conduct  of  the  war.  The  reason  of  the 
difference  was  that  he,  deriving  authority  from  his 
capacity  and  acknowledged  worth,  being  also  a  man  of 
transparent  integrity,  was  able  to  control  the  multi- 
tude in  a  free  spirit.  He  led  them  rather  than  was  led 
by  them ;  for,  not  seeking  power  by  dishonest  arts,  he 
had  no  need  to  say  pleasant  things,  but,  on  the  strength 
of  his  own  high  character,  could  venture  to  oppose  and 
even  to  anger  them.  When  he  saw  them  unseasonably 
elated  and  arrogant,  his  words  humbled  and  awed 
them;  and,  when  they  were  depressed  by  groundless 
fears,  he  sought  to  reanimate  their  confidence.  Thus 
Athens,  though  still  in  name  a  democracy,  was  in  fact 
ruled  by  her  greatest  citizen.  But  his  successors  were 
more  on  an  equality  with  one  another  and  each  one 
struggling  to  be  first  himself,  they  were  ready  to  sac- 
Hfice  the  whole  conduct  of  affairs  to  the  whims  of  the 
people." 

From  this  estimate  of  his  character  it  would  seem 
that  Pericles  was  in  truth  a  benevolent  despot,  a  coun- 
terpart in  many  respects  of  his  ancestor,  Pisistratus, 
whom  he  so  much  resembled.  The  latter  ruled  Athens 
when  it  was  a  sort  of  semi-aristocratic  republic  under 
the  constitution  and  laws  established  by  Solon.  The 
former  was  in  control  of  public  affairs  when  Athens 
was  a  pure  democracy,  under  the  constitution  of  Clis- 
thenes,  amplified  by  the  reforms  introduced  by  Themis- 
tocles,  Ephialtes  and  by  Pericles  himself.  Pisistratus 
professed  the  highest  reverence  for  the  laws  and  con- 
stitution of  Solon,  but  his  sway  was  absolute,  and  his 
will  was  the  supreme  law.  His  mild  reign  was  tempered 
to  suit  the  whims  and  fancy  of  the  masses.  He  man- 
aged by  the  art  of  diplomacy  to  please  the  people  and 
although  he  usurped  much  of  the  power  he  exercised, 
yet  his  tact  and  shrewdness  made  him  popular  as  long 
as  he  lived.  Indeed  the  memory  of  the  Pisistratidae 
was  execrated  by  posterity,  not  so  much  for  what  Pisis- 


652 


MILITAB7   ANNALa   OF    GEEECB 


tratus,  the  ancestor  had  done,  but  by  reason  of  the 
tyranny  exercised  by  his  son  Hippias,  after  the  death 
of  his  brother  Hipparchus  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin. 
Pericles,  also,  not  only  professed  the  greatest  rever- 
ence for  popular  government,  but  bent  all  his  energies 
to  destroy  the  party  of  privilege,  and  carried  out  many 
reforms,  which  theoretically  enabled  the  masses  to  con- 
trol the  state.    In  theory  Athens  enjoyed  a  government 
of  the  people,  but  in  fact  public  opinion  was  largely 
moulded  by  Pericles,  whose  influence  was  potent  in  the 
state.     His  superior  gifts  and  unusual  abilities  enabled 
him  personally  to  govern  the  people.     While  at  the 
head  of  affairs,  owing  to  his  great  influence,  "  he  ruled 
with    prudence,"    and    under    his    leadership    Athens 
reached  the  height  of  her  greatness.     His  remarkable 
talents  were  universally  acknowledged,  and  not  until 
the  last  year  of  his  life,  was  his  integrity  ever  ques- 
tioned.    By  reason  of  these  qualities  he  was  able,  as 
long  as  he  was  in  power,  to  control  the  multitude  in  a 
free  spirit.    He  was  trusted  and  admired  because  of  the 
strength  of  his  character. 

"Thus,"  Thucydides  observes,  "Athens  although 
still  a  democracy,  was  in  fact  ruled  by  her  greatest 
citizen."  Pisistratus  was  a  patron  of  art  and  letters, 
and  to  him  posterity  is  indebted  for  the  preservation 
in  their  persent  form  of  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey, 
which  were  edited  by  men  of  letters  who  came  to  Athens 
to  grace  the  court  established  by  Pisistratus.  He 
erected  public  buildings  also,  and  began  the  work  of 
embellishing  the  Attic  capital.  Pericles  also  was  a 
patron  of  art  and  letters.  He  invited  the  great  poets, 
philosophers,  men  of  letters,  artists,  sculptors  and 
architects  to  Athens.  He  managed  the  public  moneys 
in  such  a  way  as  to  use  what  was  necessary  to  rebuild 
the  temples  which  the  Persians  had  destroyed ;  to  erect 
on  the  Acropolis  the  Parthenon,  and  re-erect  the  temple 
of  Erechtheus,  and  the  temple  of  Victory,  and  to  con- 


plutaech's  views  653 

struct  on  its  northern  slope  the  marble  portals  known 
as  the  Propylea,  adorned  by  the  wonderful  paintings 
of  Polygnotus,  and  to  build  at  its  base  the  music  hall, 
known  as  the  Odeon,  and  the  theatre  of  Dionysus,  al- 
though the  Propylea  and  the  Theatre  were  not  com- 
pleted until  after  his  death. 

Plutarch  corroborates,  in  some  respects,  the  estimate 
placed  by  Thucydides  upon  the  character  of  Pericles. 
He  says  that  after  the  death  of  Aristides,  after  Themis- 
tocles  had  been  driven  out  and  Cimon,  for  the  most 
part,  was  kept  abroad  by  his  expeditions  out  of  Greece, 
Pericles  took  advantage  of  conditions  existing  in 
Athens,  and  came  forward  and  allied  himself  "  not  with 
the  rich  and  few,  but  with  the  many  and  poor  contrary/ 
to  his  natural  bent  which  was  far  from  democratical." 
Plutarch  assumes  that  the  motives  of  Pericles  in 
making  this  choice  was  a  fear  that  he  might  be  ac- 
cused "  of  aiming  at  arbitrary  power,  and  seeing  Cimon 
on  the  side  of  the  aristocracy,  and  much  beloved  by  the 
better  and  more  distinguished  people,  he  joined  the 
party  of  the  people  with  a  view  at  once  both  to  secure 
himself  and  procure  means  against  Cimon." 

But  his  great  rival  at  this  time  was  very  wealthy, 
and  while  Pericles  was  also  a  rich  man,  his  fortune  did 
not  compare  with  that  of  Cimon,  who  used  his  money 
lavishly  among  the  people,  and  by  his  invitation  many 
guests  from  the  poorer  classes  sat  daily  at  his  table. 
Plutarch  observes  further  that  at  first  Pericles  did 
caress  the  people,  but  finding  himself  come  short  of  his 
competitor  in  wealth  and  money,  he  resorted  to  a  de- 
vice whereby  he  used  the  public  moneys  by  securing 
legislation,  authorizing  sums  to  be  used  for  shows  and 
exhibitions  whereby  such  entertainments  were  made 
free  to  the  public.  He  also  secured  the  passage  of  a 
law,  authorizing  the  dikasts,  that  is  the  ^ve  or  six  thou- 
sand citizens  who  were  empaneled  to  serve  on  juries 
from  time  to  time,  to  be  paid  a  fixed  sum  per  diem  for 


6S4 


MIUTAEY  AKNALS   OF    GBEECE 


their  services.  A  panel  of  dikasts  consisted  of  ^\e 
hundred  jurymen.  In  some  very  important  cases  three 
panels  or  fifteen  hundred  dikasts  were  summoned  to 
sit,  hear  the  evidence  and  the  addresses  of  the  respective 
advocates,  and  render  their  decision  by  ballot,  a  major- 
ity vote  being  sufficient  to  constitute  a  verdict. 

"  Thus  the  common  citizens,"  Plutarch  says,  "  were 
changed  from  a  sober  thrifty  people  that  maintained 
themselves  by  their  own  labors,  to  lovers  of  expense, 
intemperance  and  license.  Pericles  made  his  policy  sub- 
servient to  their  pleasure,  contriving  continually  to 
have  some  great  public  show  or  solemnity,  some  ban- 
quet, or  some  procession  or  other  in  the  town  to  please 
them,  coaxing  his  countrymen  like  children  with  such 
delights  and  pleasures,  as  were  not  however  unedify- 
ing."  Besides,  he  sent  out  every  year  sixty  galleys  for 
an  eight  months'  cruise,  manned  by  a  number  of  citi- 
zens under  pay,  who  were  thereby  drilled  and  practised 
the  art  of  seamanship. 

Plutarch  says  also  that  after  Pericles  secured  the 
power  of  the  state  absolutely  in  his  own  hands,  he  did 
not  so  readily  yield  to  the  whims  of  the  public,  nor 
comply  with  the  desires  of  the  multitude,  but  turned 
his  mild  and  indulgent  authority  "  to  the  austerity  of 
aristocratical  and  regal  rule." 

There  is  one  phase  of  the  character  of  Pericles  con- 
cerning which  Thucydides  and  Plutarch  are  absolutely 
in  accord.  Both  commend  highly  his  personal  honesty. 
Thucydides,  in  this  connection,  speaks  of  Pericles  as 
"a  man  of  transparent  integrity."  Plutarch  quotes 
from  the  historian  on  this  point  and  observes  that  the 
strength  of  his  character  lay  in  his  reputation  for 
honesty  and  the  confidence  felt  in  his  character  and 
his  manifest  freedom  from  every  kind  of  corruption, 
and  his  superiority  to  all  considerations  of  money. 
Notwithstanding  the  tremendous  sums  paid  out  during 
his  administration  to  adorn  and  beautify  Athens  "  he 


ABILTTY   AS   A   STATESMAN  655 

did  not  make  the  patrimony  his  father  left  him  greater 
than  it  was  by  one  drachma."  Through  all  his  public 
career  he  preserved  his  integrity  unspotted.  He 
further  observes,  in  comparing  his  life  with  the  Roman 
Fabius,  that  no  man  had  ever  greater  opportunities 
to  enrich  himself  having  had  presents  offered  him  from 
so  many  kings  and  princes  and  allies,  "  yet  no  man  was 
ever  more  free  from  corruption." 

The  conclusion,  therefore,  is  justified  that  Pericles, 
although  a  benevolent  despot,  was  endowed  with  loftv 
patriotism  and  unimpeachable  integrity.  He  loved 
Athens,  and  devoted  all  his  energies  to  make  it  the 
most  renowned  city  of  antiquity.  He  loved  power, 
and  built  up  an  empire  to  add  to  the  fame  and  im- 
portance of  Athens,  and  while  he  established  an  imperial 
state,  he  was  careful  to  guarantee  to  every  city  within 
its  confines  a  republican  form  of  government.  His 
love  of  power,  however,  led  him  to  disregard  the  rights 
of  the  tribute  allies  of  Athens,  in  the  Confederacy  of 
Delos,  when  they  became,  against  their  will,  constituent 
members  of  the  Athenian  empire,  and  he  did  not  scruple 
to  tax  them  without  their  consent,  solely  to  enhance 
the  dignity  and  glory  of  Athens. 

The  situation  presents  a  paradox,  for  we  observe 
how  the  great  democrat,  who  imbibed  the  political 
teachings  of  Themistocles  and  Ephialtes,  established  a 
tyranny,  "  which,"  he  himself  said,  "  in  the  opinion  of 
mankind  might  have  been  unjustly  gained,  but  which 
could  not  be  safely  surrendered."  ^ 

The  abiHty  of  Pericles  as  a  statesman  is  shown  by 
the  results  of  his  administration,  as  evidenced  by  the 
condition  of  Athens,  when  he  came  into  power  about 
the  time  of  the  battle  of  Tanagra  (B.  C.  457),  and  its 
extent  and  influence  at  the  beginning  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesian  War  (B.  C.  431).     In  this  connection  we  must 

*  Thucyd.  ii,  63. 


6s6 


MIUTAKT  ANNALS   OF   6BEECS 


remember  that  the  foundation  for  the  greatness  of 
Athens  was  laid  by  Cimon,  and  resulted  from  his  vic- 
tories in  the  waters  of  the  ^Egean  and  in  Asia  Minor, 
whereby  he  swept  the  power  of  Persia  from  the  seas, 
and  defeated  her  armies  at  the  Eurymedon  and  in 
Cyprus.  Cimon  made  Athens  a  maritime  power,  opened 
up  the  remote  shores  of  the  ancient  world  for  her 
colonies,  and  with  the  aid  of  Aristides  established  the 
Delian  Confederacy,  thus  securing  political  unity  with 
which  to  prevent  the  aggressions  of  Persian  power. 

But  it  was  Pericles  who  converted  the  Confederacy 
of  Delos  into  the  Athenian  empire.  Prior  to  the  re- 
moval of  the  treasury  of  the  League  from  the  sacred 
island  of  Delos  to  the  city  of  Athens,  the  latter  was 
merely  the  President  of  the  Confederacy.  Under  the 
guiding  hand  of  Pericles  it  became  the  head  of  a  mari- 
time empire,  and  the  members  of  the  League,  instead 
of  remaining  independent  constituents  of  a  confed- 
eracy, taxed  with  their  consent  to  contribute  a  war 
fund  to  police  the  ^gean,  became  tribute  allies  and 
subsequently  subject  allies  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  most  powerful  state  in  the  western  world. 

Pericles  used  the  money  of  the  Confederacy  to  em- 
bellish and  adorn  Athens  until  it  became  the  most 
beautiful  city  in  the  world.  Its  ruins,  after  more  than 
twenty-three  centuries,  still  attract  the  interest  and 
admiration  of  mankind.  He  planted  colonies  every- 
where on  the  frontiers  of  civilization,  on  the  shores  of 
the  Euxine,  in  Thrace,  in  Macedonia,  in  Italy  and 
Sicily,  and  in  Asia  Minor.  Thus  he  extended  the  com- 
mercial interests  of  Athens  until  the  commerce  of  her 
rivals  in  Megara,  in  Corinth  and  elsewhere,  in  the  Pel- 
oponnesus became  insignificant  in  comparison.  When 
the  Dorian  War  began  Athens  was  the  richest  city  in 
Europe,  and  numbered  among  its  subject  and  tributary 
allies  more  than  a  thousand  cities  and  states  from  each 
of  which  it  derived  an  annual  income.    This  extensive 


KESPONSIBILITT   FOR   WAE 


6S7 


empire  expanded  and  grew  under  the  leadership  of  Per- 
icles. In  his  last  speech,  replying  to  the  final  attack  of 
his  enemies,  in  the  third  year  of  the  Peloponnesian  War, 
he  magnifies  the  glory  of  this  vast  empire,  and  while 
he  admits  it  may  have  been  unjustly  acquired,  told  his 
countrymen  that  it  was  indeed  worth  fighting  for.  He 
reminded  them  that  they  were  absolute  masters  of  the 
sea,  and  had  the  power  to  extend  their  dominion  wher- 
ever they  pleased.  "  Neither  the  Great  King,  nor  any 
nation  on  earth,"  he  said,  "  can  hinder  a  navy  like 
yours  from  penetrating  whithersoever  you  choose  to 
sail.  .  .  .  You  are  bound  to  maintain  the  imperial 
dignity  of  your  city,  in  which  you  all  take  pride ;  for 
you  should  not  covet  the  glory  unless  you  will  endure 
the  toil.  .  .  .  For  by  this  time  your  empire  has  be- 
come a  tyranny,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  mankind,  you 
may  have  unjustly  gained,  but  which  cannot  safely  be 
surrendered."  ^ 

Opinions  differ  as  to  the  responsibility  of  Pericles 
for  the  Peloponnesian  War.  We  must  not  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that  that  disastrous  conflict  was  waged  to 
uphold  Corinth,  and  avenge  her  wrongs.  The  Lace- 
daemonians had  no  special  grievance.  Indeed,  during 
the  fourteen  years  of  peace  under  the  treaty,  the  Lace- 
daemonians seem  to  have  grown  weary  of  war.  Per- 
icles became  the  warm  personal  friend  of  Archidamus, 
the  Spartan  King,  who  was  not  particularly  eager  for 
the  conflict.  But  Corinth  was  in  a  bad  way.  Her 
commercial  importance  was  gradually  diminishing. 
Megara  had  been  forbidden  to  enter  Athenian  ports. 
Corcyra  had  defeated  her  in  her  efforts  to  secure  con- 
trol of  Epidamnus,  and  Potidea,  her  daughter  city,  had 
become  a  tribute  ally  of  Athens.  The  Lacedaemonians 
must  protect  her  against  the  power  of  the  Athenians, 
or  she  would  lose  her  importance  as  a  commercial  city, 


^Thucyd.  ii,  62,  63. 


6s8 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OP    6REEC1S 


and  her  supremacy  in  the  Corinthian  gulf.  The  war, 
therefore,  was  fought  mainly  to  preserve  the  commer- 
cial interests  of  Corinth. 

If,  therefore,  we  credit  the  facts  as  presented  by  Per- 
icles  in  his  War  Speech,  the  Athenians  were  not  to 
blame  for  bringing  on  the  war.  His  argument  as  to 
the  rectitude  of  the  intention  of  the  Athenians  in  the 
stand  they  took  is  unanswerable.     He  argued: 

1.  That  the  treaty  provided  that  when  differences 
arose  between  the  contracting  parties,  they  should  be 
referred  to  arbitration. 

2.  That  the  Lacedaemonians  never  once  asked  to  ar- 
bitrate any  of  the  questions  at  issue. 

3.  That  when  the  Athenians  offered  to  submit  the 
alleged  grievances  to  arbitration,  the  Lacedaemonians 
refused  to  arbitrate. 

4.  That  there  should  be  a  legal  settlement  of  the 
questions  at  issue.  That  any  claim  imposed  "  on  a 
neighbor  and  an  equal,  when  there  has  been  no  legal 
award,  can  mean  nothing  but  slavery." 

Then  Pericles  proposes  to  settle  the  differences  be- 
tween the  contracting  parties  by  yielding  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  Spartans,  if  the  latter  would  do  likewise 
as  follows: 

1.  That  Athens  will  not  exclude  the  Megarians 
from  their  markets,  if  the  Lacedaemonians  will  not  ex- 
clude foreigners,  i.  e.,  Athens  or  her  allies,  from  Sparta, 
"  for  the  treaty  no  more  forbids  one  than  the  other." 

2.  That  independence  would  be  conceded  to  the  cities 
that  were  independent  when  the  treaty  was  made,  just 
as  soon  as  the  Lacedaemonians  would  permit  their  sub- 
ject states  to  be  governed  as  they  chose,  and  in  their 
own  interest. 

8.  That  Athens  would  arbitrate  all  questions  at 
issue. 

4.  That  Athens  would  not  begin  war,  but  if  at- 
tacked, will  defend  herself. 


PERICLES    AS    AN    ORATOR 


659 


Upon  what  theory,  then,  can  it  be  said  that  Pericles 
plunged  his  country  into  war?  If  the  Peloponnesians 
had  desired  peace,  and  had  offered  to  submit  their  dif- 
ferences to  arbitration,  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  an 
amicable  settlement  might  have  been  reached  and  that 
the  war  might  possibly  have  been  averted.  Although 
the  Lacedaemonians  made  certain  arbitrary  demands 
upon  the  Athenians,  we  find  no  warrant  in  history  for 
the  assumption  that  the  offer  of  the  Athenians  to  arbi- 
trate was  even  considered  by  the  Lacedemonians.  Such 
offer  certainly  was  never  accepted.  It  would  be  unjust, 
therefore,  in  view  of  all  the  facts,  to  charge  that  Per- 
icles made  no  effort  to  conciliate  the  Lacedaemonians. 
He  offered  to  submit  all  questions  in  dispute  to  arbitra- 
tion. What  more  could  he  do  under  the  circumstances, 
and  retain  his  dignity  and  self-respect.'* 

Nor  can  it  be  successfully  argued  that  Pericles  was 
responsible  for  the  war,  because  he  sent  back  the  herald 
sent  at  the  last  moment  by  Archidamus,  without  even 
hearing  what  the  envoy  had  to  say.  The  herald  was 
sent  by  the  Spartan  King,  when  he  was  at  the  head  of 
an  invading  army  of  60,000  men,  marching  northward, 
having  reached  the  borders  of  Attica.  The  herald 
sought  Pericles  when  the  enemy  was  at  his  door  with 
arms  in  their  hands.  The  war  was  actually  begun. 
Pericles,  therefore,  was  justified  in  believi/ig  that  the 
motives  of  the  enemy  in  sending  the  messenger  were  in- 
sincere, and  that  further  parley  would  be  fruitless. 

Indeed,  it  is  an  open  question  whether  the  war  would 
have  begun  at  all,  at  that  time,  had  not  the  selfish  un- 
patriotic city  of  Thebes,  the  city  that  stood  by  the 
Persians  when  Hellas  fought  for  independence,  the  city 
that  furnished  a  friendly  shelter  for  Mardonius,  just 
before  his  overwhelming  defeat  at  Plataea;  had  not 
Thebes  planned  a  treacherous  attack  in  the  dead  of 
night  on  that  devoted  city,  solely  because  it  was  an  ally 
of  Athens. 


660 


MIUTAJELY   AIINALS    OF    GREECE 


PERICLES    AS    AN    ORATOR 


From  the  history  of  Thucydides,  the  only  contempo- 
rary authority  we  have  respecting  the  life  and  character 
of  Pericles,  the  conclusion  is  justified  that  this  gifted 
man,  in  addition  to  his  many  accomplishments,  was  also 
one  of  the  great  orators  of  antiquity.  Thucydides  has 
reported  three  speeches  of  Pericles.  Doubtless,  he 
heard  all  of  them  delivered,  namely,  the  War  Speech, 
made  in  the  Public  Assembly  shortly  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Peloponnesian  War;  the  Funeral 
Oration,  in  memory  of  the  dead,  who  had  fallen  during 
the  first  year  of  that  memorable  conflict,  and  his  de- 
fense, in  answer  to  the  vicious  and  unfounded  charges 
and  accusations,  which  he  deemed  it  prudent  to  answer, 
on  his  return  from  an  expedition  to  the  Peloponnesus 
and  his  attack  on  Epidaurus,  in  the  second  year  of  the 
war.  Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  War 
Speech,  and  the  argument  presented  on  that  occasion 
has  been  analyzed  in  discussing  the  question  as  to  his 
responsibility  for  the  Dorian  War.  That  address, 
therefore,  needs  no  further  elaboration.  His  defense 
of  his  own  conduct  which  resulted  in  his  reinstatement 
to  office,  and  his  reelection  as  strategus  has  also  been 
fully  discussed.  The  Funeral  Oration,  his  crowning 
effort,  deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice. 

In  point  of  excellence  as  an  address  suited  to  the 
dignity  and  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  it  has  never  been 
surpassed,  except  by  the  immortal  words  of  the  great 
American,  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  spoke  for  five  minutes 
at  the  memorial  and  dedicatory  services  on  the  historic 
field  of  Gettysburg. 

An  account  of  the  heroism  of  the  Greeks  on  the 
plains  of  Troy,  and  their  adventures  in  distant  lands, 
after  the  destruction  of  Priam's  kingdom,  as  reflected 
in  the  fancy  of  Homer,  and  embalmed  in  the  Hiad  and 


FUNERAL   ORATION 


661 


Odyssey,  never  failed  to  kindle  the  military  ardor  of 
Hellas,  and  for  centuries  furnished  the  canon  of  dis- 
tinction among  the  descendants  of  those  early  heroes. 
The  memory  of  their  deeds  inspired  the  courage  of  the 
men,  who  destroyed  the  might  of  Persia  at  Marathon 
and  Thermopylae,  at  Salamis  and  Plataea.  The  emula- 
tion of  the  example  of  Achilles  inspired  Alexander  to 
conquer  the  world. 

Pericles  spoke  nearly  half  a  century  after  the  Per- 
sian Wars  of  liberation.  A  fitting  reference  to  the 
deeds  of  valor  displayed  by  their  ancestors,  in  those 
memorable  contests  was  effective  to  stir  the  blood  and 
arouse  the  patriotic  ardor  of  his  countrymen,  awaken 
their  interest  and  fix  their  attention. 

In  discharging  the  public  duty  conferred  upon  him 
in  recognition  of  his  great  ability  and  intellectual  at- 
tainments, Pericles,  after  referring  to  the  law  estab- 
lishing the  custom  which  required  an  oration  at  a  pub- 
lic funeral,  paid  a  graceful  tribute  to  the  achievements 
of  his  ancestors,  without  burdening  his  discourse  with 
specific  details.  He  then  pronounced  a  eulogy  on  the 
laws  and  customs  established  under  the  Athenian  con- 
stitution, and  spoke  of  the  glory  of  the  Athenian  Em- 
pire. He  next  referred  to  the  virtues  of  the  men  who 
had  given  their  lives  for  their  country  whose  remains 
were  being  consip'ned  to  the  tomb.  Pericles  then  spoke 
comforting  words  to  the  parents  of  the  dead  who,  he 
said,  were  to  be  comforted  rather  than  pitied,  and  in 
praise  of  the  sons  and  brothers  of  the  departed.  Re- 
ferring to  those  in  the  assembly  past  middle  life,  the 
speaker  expressed  this  graceful  sentiment: 

"  To  those  of  you  who  have  passed  their  prime,  I 
say:  Congratulate  yourselves  that  you  have  been 
happy  during  the  greater  part  of  your  days;  remem- 
ber that  your  life  of  sorrow  will  not  last  long,  and  be 
comforted  by  the  glory  of  those  who  are  gone.  For 
the  love  of  honor  alone  is  ever  young,  and  not  riches, 


^^2 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


as  some  say,  but  honor  is  the  delight  of  men  when  they 
are  old  and  useless."  * 

It  will  be  profitable  to  quote  from  the  address  of 
Pericles,  in  order  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  his  ability 
as  an  orator.  The  extracts  given  are  from  Jowett's 
admirable  translation :  ^ 

"  I  will  speak  first  of  our  ancestors,"  said  Pericles, 
"  for  it  is  right  and  becoming  that  now,  when  we  are 
lamenting  the  dead,  a  tribute  should  be  paid  to  their 
memory.  There  has  never  been  a  time  when  they  did 
not  inhabit  this  land,  which  by  tlieir  valor  they  have 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  and  we 
have  received  from  them  a  free  state.  But  if  they  were 
worthy  of  praise,  still  more  were  our  fathers,  who  added 
to  their  inheritance,  and  after  many  a  struggle  trans- 
mitted to  us  their  sons  this  great  empire.  And  we  our- 
selves assembled  here  to-day,  who  are  still  most  of  us 
in  the  vigor  of  life,  have  chiefly  done  the  work  of  im- 
provement, and  have  richly  endowed  our  city  with  all 
things,  so  that  she  is  sufficient  for  herself  both  in  peace 
and  war.  Of  the  military  exploits  by  which  our  vari- 
ous possessions  were  acquired,  or  of  the  energy  with 
which  we  or  our  fathers  drove  back  the  tide  of  war, 
Hellenic  or  Barbarian,  I  will  not  speak;  for  the  tale 
would  be  long  and  is  famiHar  to  you.  But  before  I 
praise  the  dead,  I  should  like  to  point  out  by  what  prin- 
ciples of  action  we  rose  to  power,  and  under  what  in- 
stitutions and  through  what  manner  of  life  our  empire 
became  great.  For  I  conceive  that  such  thoughts  are 
not  unsuited  to  the  occasion,  and  that  this  numerous 
assembly  of  citizens  and  strangers  may  profitably  listen 
to  them." 

After  referring  to  the  laws  and  constitution  of  his 
country  and  the  greatness  of  Athens,  which  he  said 
was  the  school  of  Hellas,  he  observed :  "  We  have  com- 

^  Thucyd.  ii,  44. 
« Thucyd.  ii,  36. 


!:|: 


GEEATNESS    OF    ATHENS 


663 


pelled  every  land  and  every  sea  to  open  a  path  for  our 
valor  and  have  everywhere  planted  eternal  memorials  of 
our  friendship  and  of  our  enmity.  Such  is  the  city  for 
which  these  men  nobly  fought  and  died.  They  could 
not  bear  the  thought  that  she  might  be  taken  from 
them;  and  every  one  of  us  who  survive  would  gladly 
toil  on  her  behalf." 

It  was  fitting  to  pay  this  tribute  to  Athens,  and  the 
men  who  fell  in  her  defense.  '*  For,"  said  he,  "  in  mag- 
nifying the  city  I  have  magnified  them,  and  men  like 
them,  whose  virtues  made  her  glorious."  He  then  con- 
tinued: 

"  I  would  have  you  day  by  day  ^Ji  your  eyes  upon 
the  greatness  of  Athens,  until  you  become  filled  with 
the  love  of  her;  and  when  you  are  impressed  by  the 
spectacle  of  her  glory,  reflect  that  this  empire  has  been 
acquired  by  men  who  knew  their  duty  and  had  the 
courage  to  do  it,  who  in  the  hour  of  conflict  had  the 
fear  of  dishonor  always  present  to  them,  and  who,  if 
ever  they  failed  in  an  enterprise,  would  not  allow  their 
virtues  to  be  lost  to  their  country,  but  freely  gave  their 
lives  to  her  as  the  fairest  off*ering  which  they  could 
present  to  her  feast.  The  sacrifice  which  they  collect- 
ively made  was  individually  repaid  to  them;  for  they 
received  again  each  one  for  himself  a  praise  which 
grows  not  old,  and  the  noblest  of  all  sepulchres  —  I 
speak  not  of  that  in  which  their  remains  are  laid,  but 
of  that  in  which  their  glory  survives,  and  is  proclaimed 
always  and  on  every  fitting  occasion  both  in  word  and 
deed.  For  the  whole  earth  is  the  sepulchre  of  famous 
men ;  not  only  are  they  commemorated  by  columns  and 
inscriptions  in  their  own  country,  but  in  foreign  lands 
there  dwells  also  an  unwritten  memorial  of  them, 
graven  not  on  stone,  but  in  the  hearts  of  men.  Make 
them  your  examples,  and,  esteeming  courage  to  be  free- 
dom and  freedom  to  be  happiness,  do  not  slight  too 
nicely  the  perils  of  war.     The  unfortunate  who  has  no 


664 


MIUTAET   AKNALS    OF    GREECE 


hope  of  a  change  for  the  better,  has  less  reason  to  throw 
away  his  life  than  the  prosperous  who,  if  he  survive, 
is  always  liable  to  a  change  for  the  worse,  and  to  whom 
any  accidental  fall  makes  the  most  serious  difference. 
To  a  man  of  spirit,  cowardice  and  disaster  coming  to- 
gether are  far  more  bitter  than  death,  striking  him 
unperceived  at  a  time  when  he  is  full  of  courage  and 
animated  by  the  general  hope." 

After  the  lapse  of  twenty-three  centuries  posterity 
will  be  able  to  judge  somewhat  of  the  character  and 
attainments  of  this  eminent  man  by  the  lofty  thought* 
and  sentiments  expressed  in  this  address,  spoken  at 
the  sepulchre  of  his  countrymen  who  fell  in  battle.  In 
the  same  way  we  may  judge  of  the  intense  patriot- 
ism of  Lincoln,  who  spoke  to  his  countrymen  when  he 
took  the  oath  at  his  first  inauguration  as  President  of 
the  United  States.  He  sought  to  arouse  the  patriot- 
ism of  his  countrymen  and  to  persuade  them  not  to 
make  war.  Like  Pericles,  he  referred  feelingly  to  the 
achievements  of  our  ancestors: 

"  In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow  countrymen, 
and  not  in  mine,  are  the  momentous  issues  of  civil  war. 
.  .  .  We  are  not  enemies  but  friends.  We  must  not  be 
enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained  it  must 
not  break  the  bonds  of  affection.  The  mystic  chords  of 
memory,  stretching  from  every  battle-field  and  patriotic 
grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearthstone  all  ovef 
this  broad  land,  will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union, 
when  again  touched,  as  surely  as  they  will  be,  by  the 
better  angels  of  our  nature." 

Lincoln's  Gettysburg  address  it  is  not  necessary  to 
quote.  The  nation  knows  it  by  heart.  It  will  be  suf- 
ficient to  refer  to  the  two  closing  sentences,  containing 
the  highest  expression  of  patriotism  to  be  found  in 
literature,  that  they  may  be  read  in  connection  with  the 
lofty  thoughts  of  the  Athenian  statesman. 

It  is  rather  for  us,  the  living  to  be  dedicated  here, 


(( 


LINCOLN    AT    OETTTSBURO 


66s 


to  the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have 
thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be 
here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us, 
that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devo- 
tion to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full 
measure  of  devotion ;  that  we  highly  resolve  that  these 
dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain ;  that  this  nation  under 
God  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  the 
Government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

The  eminent  American  statesman  and  distinguished 
orator,  Daniel  Webster,  says,  that  eloquence  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word  is  born  of  circumstances.  "  It  must 
exist,  in  the  man,  in  the  subject,  and  in  the  occasion. 
...  It  comes,  if  it  comes  at  all,  like  the  outbreaking 
of  a  fountain  from  the  earth,  or  the  bursting  forth  of 
volcanic  fires,  with  spontaneous  original  native  force." 
In  this  connection  we  note  that  the  circumstances  under 
which  Pericles  and  Lincoln  spoke  on  the  occasions  re- 
ferred to  were  in  one  respect  wholly  dissimilar.  Lin- 
coln could  appeal  to  that  patriotic  sentiment,  which 
had  its  genesis  in  the  great  struggle  for  independence, 
in  which  the  names  of  Lexington  and  Concord  and 
Bunker  Hill,  of  Bennington  and  Saratoga  and  York- 
town,  suggested  hallowed  memories,  which  resulted  in 
the  birth  of  a  great  nation.  He  could  appeal  to  "  the 
mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every  battle- 
field and  patriot  grave,  to  every  living  heart  and 
hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land." 

Pericles  could  not  conjure  with  the  mystic  memories 
of  united  Hellas.  It  is  true  he  sought  to  attain  that 
lofty  ideal  when  commissioners  at  his  instigation  were 
sent  to  every  city  and  state  in  the  Greek  world  to  bring 
about  political  unity  and  cultivate  Hellenic  patriotism. 
But  his  efforts  in  that  regard  were  defeated  by  the 
very  men  who  disregarding  the  sacred  ties  of  consan- 
guinity, had  taken  up  arms  to  destroy  Athens.     The 


:i 


<  i 


(If 


666 


MIUTAEY   ANNALS    OF    GREECE 


only  concerted  action  among  those  of  his  race  was 
born  of  necessity.  It  was  brought  about  by  Themis- 
tocles,  who  persuaded  some  of  his  countrymen  to  assem- 
ble in  the  temple  of  Poseidon,  at  Corinth,  to  devise  ways 
and  means  to  present  a  united  front  to  repel  the  hosts 
of  Xerxes  which  threatened  the  destruction  of  Greece. 
In  this  Themistocles  was  only  partially  successful. 
After  the  tide  of  Persian  invasion  was  turned  back  at 
Salamis  and  Plataea,  the  various  Greek  states  instead 
of  forming  a  political  union  retained  their  autonomy 
and  individuality  with  even  greater  tenacity,  and  re- 
fused to  yield  cohesion  to  a  form  of  government  which 
might  have  preserved  their  liberties  in  spite  of  Philip 
and  Alexander. 

There  was  no  time  during  the  administration  of  Per- 
icles when  he  could  appeal  to  a  united  country.  When 
finally  Sparta  and  her  allies  made  war  against  Athens 
and  her  allies,  Pericles  was  powerless  to  avert  the  dis- 
aster, and  at  the  same  time  maintain  the  dignity  and 
self-respect  of  the  Athenians.  When  selfish  interest 
threatened  to  disrupt  and  disintegrate  the  American 
union,  it  was  still  possible  for  Lincoln,  the  chosen  head 
of  the  nation,  to  appeal  to  a  common  patriotism,  and 
hallowed  traditions.  When  people  were  excited  and 
disturbed  by  visible  preparation  for  the  approaching 
conflict,  it  was  yet  possible  for  him  to  say  when  he  took 
his  oath  as  president  of  the  United  States,  "  in  your 
hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow  countrymen,  and  not  in 
mine  are  the  momentous  issues  of  civil  war.  .  .  .  We 
are  not  enemies,  but  friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies." 
He  could  still  appeal  to  the  chords  of  memory,  and  the 
bonds  of  affection,  and  the  better  angels  of  our  nature 
for  three  generations  had  not  passed  since  the  war  for 
American  independence  was  won. 

When  Pericles  was  called  upon  to  address  the  sur- 
vivors of  those  who  had  fallen  in  battle,  in  the  great 
civil  war  in  which  his  people  were  then  engaged,  there 


NO    UNITED    COUNTEY  66/ 

were  no  facts  or  traditions,  which  a  great  patriotic 
orator  could  use  to  appeal  to  the  warring  factions, 
that  could  touch  the  tender  chords  of  memory  so  as  to 
cause  a  patriotic  response,  strong  enough  to  heal  the 
wounds  opened  by  the  sword.  The  selfish  commercial 
interests  of  the  cities  and  states  of  Hellas  created  jeal- 
ousy and  rivalry  among  them,  which  extinguished 
patriotism  and  made  the  political  unity  of  Greece  im- 
possible. 


ACCOUNTS    OP   THE    CREATION 


669 


CHAPTER    XLII 

ADVANCE   IN  LEARNING  SINCE  THE   AGE  OF  PERI- 
CLES, A  RETROSPECT  — THEORY  OF  THE  CREA- 
TION—DOCTRINE OF  IMMORTALITY  AMONG 
THE  ANCIENTS  — CONTINUITY  AS  VIEWED 
BY  MODERN  SCIENCE 

HE  ideas  of  the  Greek  poets  and  philos- 
ophers, in  the  age  of  Pericles,  as  to  the  crea- 
tion, and  the  beginning  of  things,  were  ex- 
ceedmgly  vague.  The  mysteries  as  to  how 
man  came  upon  this  planet,  as  to  his  destiny, 
and  as  to  how  the  earth  itself  came  into  existence,  were 
taught  to  the  initiated  by  the  seers  of  Egypt  in 
dreamy  legends. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  similarity  in  the  story 
of  the  creation  as  narrated  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
and  the  account  given  by  Ovid,  the  Latin  poet  who. 
flourished  in  the  last  century  B.  C,  and  early  in  the 
first  century  of  our  era.  The  account  in  Genesis  de- 
clares :  "  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and 
the  earth.  And  the  earth  was  without  form  and  void; 
and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep.  .  .  .  And 
God  said  let  there  be  a  firmament  in  the  midst  of  the 
waters.  .  .  .  And  God  said,  let  the  waters  under  the 
heaven  be  gathered  unto  one  place,  and  let  the  dry 
land  appear." 

Referring  to  the  advent  of  man,  that  is,  intellectual 
man,  Moses,  assuming  he  wrote  the  book  of  Genesis, 
says:  "And  God  said  let  us  make  man  in  our  image 

668 


after  our  likeness.  .  .  .  And  the  Lord  God  formed  man 
of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nos- 
trils the  breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul." 
This  is  equivalent  to  saying  that  the  man  thus  created 
was  an  intellectual  being,  as  distinguished  from  pre- 
historic man,  who  used  fire,  and  made  pictures  on  the 
rocks. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Ovid  ever  read  Genesis,  yet 
the  similarity  in  the  description  of  the  creation  by 
Moses,  and  that  written  by  Ovid  in  the  Metamor- 
phoses is,  in  some  respects,  marked.  Thus  Ovid 
writes : 

"  In  the  beginning,  the  sea,  the  earth,  and  the 
heaven  which  covers  all  was  but  one  face  of  nature 
through  the  whole  universe;  which  they  called  chaos; 
a  rude  and  indigested  mass ;  nor  anything  but  a  lifeless 
lump,  and  the  disagreeing  seeds  of  jarring  elements 
confusedly  jumbled  together  in  the  same  heap.  .  .  . 
The  light  fiery  element  of  vaulted  ethereal  heaven  shone 
out  and  mounted  to  the  highest  region.  To  this  the 
air  succeeds  in  lightness  and  place.  The  earth,  still 
heavier,  drew  along  with  it  the  more  ponderous  ele- 
ments, and  was  pressed  together  by  its  own  weight. 
The  circling  waters  sunk  to  the  lowest  place  and  he- 
girt  the  solid  orb,  * 

"  When  thus  he,  whoever  he  was  of  the  gods,  had 
divided  the  mass,  and  by  that  division  formed  it  into 
distinct  members ;  first  of  all,  that  no  inequality  might 
be  found  in  either  side,  he  rolled  up  the  earth  into  the 
figure  of  a  spacious  globe.  He  then  commanded  the 
seas  to  flow  round  and  swell  with  raging  winds ;  and  to 
mark  out  shores  upon  the  encompassed  earth.  He 
added  also  springs  and  immense  standing  pools  and 
lakes,  and  bounded  the  running  rivers  by  winding 
banks.  These  diff^erent  in  different  places,  are  swal- 
lowed up  by  the  earth  itself;  others  carrying  their 
waters  to  the  sea,  are  there  received  into  the  plains  of 


III 


670 


MIUTABT  ANNALS   OF   GREECE 


IMMOETALITY 


671 


!f: 


the  ample  ocean,  and  beat  the  shores  m  place  of 
banks."  ^ 

Ovid  proceeds  with  a  further  description  of  the  crea- 
tion and  then  refers  to  the  creation  of  man.  "  A  more 
noble  animal  and  capable  of  still  higher  faculties, 
formed  for  empire,  and  fit  to  rule  over  the  rest,  was  yet 
wanting.  .  .  .  Man  is  born,  fashioned  after  the  image 
of  the  gods,  who  rule  over  all."  ^ 

We  now  approach  a  topic  of  absorbing  interest. 
What  knowledge  had  the  ancients  as  to  the  foremost 
question  discussed  among  men,  since  the  morning  of 
time  —  if  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again  ?  Where  are 
the  dead?  Is  the  soul  immortal?  Phases  of  this  sub- 
lime theme  were  discussed  by  Anaxagoras,  who  was 
honored  by  the  friendship  of  Pericles,  and  who  exer- 
cised great  influence  over  the  life  and  conduct  of  the 
Athenian  statesmen. 

Socrates,  in  his  dialogue  with  Phaedrus,  refers  di- 
rectly to  Pericles.  "All  the  higher  arts,"  says  Soc- 
rates, "  require  much  discussion  and  lofty  contempla- 
tion of  nature.  This  is  the  source  of  sublimity  and  per- 
fect comprehensive  power.  And  this,  as  I  conceive, 
was  the  quality  which  in  addition  to  his  natural  gifts, 
Pericles  acquired  from  his  happening  to  know  Anaxag- 
oras.    He  was  imbued  with  the  higher  philosophy,  and 

*  Ante  mare  et  tellus,  ct  quod  tegit  omnia,  coelum, 
Unus  erat  toto  naturae  Tultus  in  orbe, 
Quem  dixere  chaos;    rudis  indigestaque  moles; 
Nee  quicquam,  nisi  pondus  iners;    congestaque  eodem 
Non  bene  junctarum  discordia  semina  rerum. 

Circumfluus  humor. 
Ultima  possedit,  solidumque  coercuit  orbem. 
Sic  ubi  disposidam,  quisquis  fuit  ilie  Deorum, 
Congeriem  secuit,  sectamque  in  membra  redegit; 
Principio  terram,  ne  non  aequalis  ab  omni 
Parte  forct,  magni  speciem  glomeravit  in  orbis. 


*Natus  homo  est, 

Finxit  in  effigiem  moderantum  cuncta  Deorum. 


attained  to  the  knowledge  of  mind  and  matter,  which 
was  the  favorite  theme  of  Anaxagoras,  and  hence  he 
drew  what  was  applicable  to  his  art." 

Pericles  was  familiar  with  the  doctrine  of  immor- 
tality taught  by  Pythagoras,  the  Samian.  The  Egyp- 
tians believed  themselves  to  be  the  most  ancient  of  man- 
kind, and  Herodotus  (ii,  123)  declares  that  they  were 
the  first  to  advance  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of 
the  soul.  They  believed  "  that  when  the  body  perishes, 
the  soul  enters  into  some  other  animal,  constantly 
springing  into  existence,  and  when  it  has  passed 
through  the  different  kinds  of  terrestrial,  marine  and 
aerial  beings,  it  again  enters  into  the  body  of  man," 
and  that  this  transmigration  from  man  to  man  again, 
is  made  in  three  thousand  3^ears.  This  belief  is  known 
as  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis. 

Diodorus,  in  his  introduction  to  the  Eighteenth  Book 
of  his  history,  declares  that  Pythagoras,  and  some 
others  of  the  ancient  philosophers,  taught  this  doc- 
trine, and  held  that  men  were  able  to  foretell  future 
events  when  the  soul  was  parting  from  the  body.  On 
this  point  he  cites  Homer  who  declares  that  Hector 
when  he  was  dying  foretold  the  death  of  Achilles. 
Diodorus  says  also  that  Pythagoras  learned  his  mys- 
terious and  sacred  expressions,  the  art  of  geometry, 
arithmetic,   and   the    "  Transmigration    of    Souls "    in 

Egypt. 

Socrates  was  forty  years  old  when  Pericles  passed 
from  scenes  of  earth,  but  as  he  did  not  discourse  upon 
the  subject  of  immortality  until  late  in  life,  it  may  be 
regarded  as  certain,  that  Pericles  never  heard  the  views 
expressed  by  Socrates  on  this  important  subject.  The 
dialogue  with  Meno  is  said  to  contain  the  first  expres- 
sion of  Socrates  on  this  absorbing  topic.  He  discusses 
it  also  with  Phaedrus.  Both  of  these  discussions  took 
place  before  he  was  tried  and  condemned  for  heresv. 
His  most  impressive  discourses,  however,  were   after 


I 


672 


MIUTASr  ANNALS   OF   GREECE 


that  event,  and  his  talk  with  Phaedo  was  on  the  last  day 
of  lus  life,  B.  C.  899,  immediately  before  his  demise. 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  Socrates  refers  to  the  expres- 
sions of  poets  and  philosophers,  Pindar  among  others, 
whose  teachings  and  writings  were  known  to  Pericles, 
it  may  be  profitable  to  refer  briefly  to  some  of  his 
teachings,  which  have  been  preserved  to  posterity  in 
the  works  of  Plato,  his  most  distinguished  pupil,  who 
listened  to  his  discourses  under  the  palm  trees  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ilissus,  and  also  in  the  prison,  where 
Socrates  awaited  his  execution.  Among  his  disciples, 
also,  was  Xenophon,  the  distinguished  soldier,  who  led 
the  Greeks  out  of  Asia,  after  the  death  of  the  younger 
Cyrus  at  Cunaxa,  and  who  wrote  the  memoirs  of  his 
illustrious  preceptor. 

In  his  talk  with  Meno,  Socrates  observed  that  there 
have  been  poets,  such  as  Pindar,  and  other  inspired 
men,  who  spoke  of  things  divine,  and  who  say  that  the 
soul  of  man  is  immortal.  "The  soul,  then,  being  im- 
mortal," he  said,  "  and  having  been  born  again  many 
times,  and  having  seen  all  things  that  there  are, 
whether  in  this  world,  or  in  the  world  below,  has  knowl- 
edge of  them  all.  It  is,  therefore,  no  wonder  that  the 
soul  should  be  able  to  call  to  remembrance  all  that  it 
ever  knew  about  virtues  and  about  everything.  For 
as  all  nature  is  akin,  and  as  the  soul  has  learned  all 
things,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  the  soul  eliciting,  or  as 
men  say,  learningj  all  out  of  a  single  recollection,  if  a 
man  is  strenuous  and  does  not  faint.  For  all  inquiry 
and  learning  is  but  memory  or  recollection." 

In  his  dialogue  with  Ph«drus,  Socrates  states  in 
somewhat  modified  form,  the  doctrine  of  metempsycho- 
sis :  "  Ten  thousand  years  must  elapse  before  the  soul 
can  return  to  the  place  from  whence  it  came.  For  it 
cannot  grow  its  wings  in  less.  Only  the  soul  of  a 
philosopher,  guileless  and  true ;  or  the  soul  of  a  lover, 
who  is  not  without  philosophy,  may  acquire  wings  in 


VIEWS    OP    SOCRATES 


673 


the  third  recurring  period  of  a  thousand  years.  And 
if  they  choose  this  life  three  times  in  succession,  then 
they  have  their  wings  given  them,  and  go  away  at  the 
end  of  three  thousand  years.  But  the  others  receive 
judgment  when  they  have  completed  their  first  life,  and 
after  the  judgment  they  go,  some  of  them  to  the  houses 
of  correction  which  are  under  the  earth,  and  are  pun- 
ished. Others  to  some  place  in  heaven,  whither  they  are 
lightly  borne  by  justice.  There  they  live  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  the  life  they  led  here  when  in  the  form  of 
men.  And  at  the  end  of  the  first  thousand  years,  the 
good  souls,  and  also  the  evil  souls  both  come  and  cast 
lots,  and  choose  their  second  life,  and  they  may  take 
any  that  they  like.  And  then  the  soul  of  the  man  may 
pass  into  the  life  of  a  beast,  or  from  the  beast  again 
into  the  man.  But  the  soul  of  him  who  has  never  seen 
the  truth  will  not  pass  into  the  human  form.  For  man 
ought  to  have  intelligence,  as  they  say,  according  to 
the  species,  proceeding  from  many  particulars  of  sense, 
to  one  conception  of  reason.  And  this  is  the  recollec- 
tion of  those  things  which  our  soul  once  saw  when  in 
company  with  God  —  when  looking  down  from  above 
on  that  which  we  now  call  being,  and  upwards  towards 
the  true  being.  And,  therefore,  the  mind  of  the  philos- 
opher alone  has  wings.  And  this  is  just.  For  ac- 
cording to  the  measure  of  his  aj^ilities,  he  always  clings 
in  recollection  to  those  things  in  which  God  abides, 
and  in  beholding  which  He  is  what  he  is.  He  who  em- 
ploys aright  these  memories  is  ever  being  initiated  into 
perfect  mysteries,  and  alone  becomes  truly  perfect. 
But,  as  he  forgets  earthly  interests,  and  is  rapt  in  the 
divine,  the  vulgar  deem  him  mad,  and  rebuke  him ;  for 
they  do  not  see  that  he  is  inspired." 

In  the  dialogue  with  Phaedo  on  the  last  day  of  his 
life,  he  thus  discourses  on  death  and  immortality.  "  All 
experience  shows  that  if  we  would  have  pure  knowledge 
of  anything  we  must  be  quit  of  the  body,  and  the  soul 


674 


MIUTAKV   ANNALS    OF    GKEECE 


in  herself  must  behold  all  things  in  themselves.     Then, 
I  suppose,  that  we  shall  attain  that  which  we  desire, 
and  of  which  we  say  that  we  are  lovers,  and  that  is  wis- 
dom ;  not  while  we  Hve,  but  after  death  as  the  argument 
shows.     For  if  while  in  company  with  the  body  the 
soul  cannot  have  pure  knowledge,  one  of  the  two  things 
seems  to  follow,  either  knowledge  is  not  to  be  attained 
at  all,  or,  if  at  all,  after  death.    For  then,  and  not  till 
then  the  soul  will  be  in  herself  alone  and  without  the 
body.     In  this  present  life  I  reckon  that  we  make  the 
nearest  approach  to  knowledge,  when  we  have  the  least 
possible  concern  or  interest  in  the  body,  and  are  not 
saturated   with   the   bodily   nature,   but   remain   pure 
until  the  hour  when  God  himself  is  pleased  to  release  us. 
And  then  the  foolishness  of  the  body  will  be  cleared 
away  and  we  shall  be  pure,  and  hold  converse  with  other 
pure  souls,  and  know  of  ourselves  the  clear  light  every- 
where;   and  this  is  surely  the  light  of  truth.     For  no 
impure  thing  is  allowed  to  approach  the  pure." 

In  his  Apology,  delivered  after  his  conviction, 
shortly  before  he  drank  the  fatal  hemlock,  he  says: 
"  Either  death  is  a  state  of  nothingness  and  utter  un- 
consciousness, or,  as  men  say,  there  is  a  change  and 
migration  of  the  soul  from  this  world  to  another. 
Now  if  you  suppose  that  there  is  no  consciousness  but 
a  sleep  like  the  sleep  of  him  who  is  undisturbed  even  by 
the  sight  of  dreams,  death  will  be  an  unspeakable  gain. 
...  Now  if  death  is  like  this,  I  say  that  to  die  is 
gain ;  for  eternity  is  then  only  a  single  night.  .  .  . 

"  But  if  death  is  the  journey  to  another  place,  as 
there  as  men  say  all  the  dead  are,  what  good,  O  my 
friends  and  judges,  can  be  greater  than  this?  If,  in- 
deed, when  the  pilgrim  arrives  in  the  world  below,  he 
is  delivered  from  the  professors  of  justice  in  this  world, 
and  finds  the  true  judges  who  are  said  to  give  judg- 
ment there,  Minos  and  Ehadamanthus  and  iEacus  and 
Triptolemus,  and  other  sons  of  God  who  were  righteous 


GLORY    OF   A    FtlTURE    STATE 


675 


in  their  own  life,  that  pilgrimage  will  be  worth  making. 
What  would  not  a  man  give  if  he  might  converse  with 
Orpheus  and  Museaus  and  Hesiod  and  Homer?  Nay, 
if  this  be  true,  let  me  die  again  and  again.  I,  too, 
shall  have  a  wonderful  interest  in  a  place  where  I  can 
converse  with  Palamedes,  and  Ajax  the  son  of  Telamon, 
and  other  heroes  of  old,  who  have  suffered  death 
through  an  unjust  judgment.  And  there  will  be  no 
small  pleasure,  as  I  think,  in  comparing  my  own  suf- 
ferings with  theirs.  Above  all  I  shall  be  able  to  con- 
tinue my  search  into  true  and  false  knowledge;  as  in 
this  world,  so  also  in  that ;  I  shall  find  out  who  is  wise 
and  who  pretends  to  be  wise,  and  is  not.  What  would 
not  a  man  give,  O  Judges,  to  be  able  to  examine  the 
leader  of  the  great  Trojan  expedition;  or  Odysseus 
or  Sisyphus,  or  numberless  others,  men  and  women, 
too!  What  infinnite  delight  would  there  be  in  con- 
versing with  them  and  asking  them  questions !  For  in 
that  world  they  do  not  put  a  man  to  death  for  this ; 
certainly  not.  For  besides  being  happier  in  that  world 
than  in  this,  they  will  be  immortal,  if  what  is  said  is 
true." 

The  teachings  which  were  instilled  into  the  mind  of 
Xenophon  by  his  illustrious  preceptor  are  set  forth  in 
the  words  which  Xenophon  puts  in  the  mouth  of  Cyrus 
the  Great  when  he  is  about  to  die.  "  I  can  never  be 
persuaded,"  said  the  Persian  monarch,  "  that  the  soul 
lives  no  longer  than  it  dwells  in  this  mortal  body,  and 
that  it  dies  on  its  separation,  for  I  see  that  the  soul 
communicates  vigor  and  motion  to  mortal  bodies  during 
its  continuance  in  them.  Neither  can  I  be  persuaded 
that  the  soul  is  divested  of  intelligence  on  its  separa- 
tion from  this  gross  senseless  body.  But  it  is  possible 
that  when  the  soul  is  separated,  it  becomes  pure  and 
entire,  and  then  is  more  intelligent.  It  is  evident  that, 
on  man's  dissolution,  every  part  of  him  returns  to  what 
is  of  the  same  nature  with  itself,  except  the  soul.    That 


«  ! 


eye 


MIUTAET   AKNALS    OF    GREECE 


alone  is  invisible,  both  during  its  presence  here,  and  at 
its  departure." 

Whoever  would  believe,  in  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  must  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight.  The  solu- 
tion of  this  riddle  has  baffled  and  continues  to  baffle 
scientific  investigation.  The  latest  utterance  on  the 
subject  from  a  purely  scientific  standpoint  is  set  forth 
in  an  address  delivered  by  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  at  Bir- 
mingham, England,  before  the  most  distinguished  body 
of  scientists  in  the  world.^  ' 

In  the  language  of  science  the  doctrine  of  immor- 
tality is  embraced  in  the  idea  of  continuity.  "  Oc- 
currences now  regarded  as  occult,"  said  Sir  Oliver, 
"  can  be  examined  and  reduced  to  order  by  the  methods 
of  science,  carefully  and  persistently  applied.  .  .  . 
Already  the  facts  so  examined  have  convinced  me  that 
memory  and  affection  are  not  limited  to  that  associa- 
tion with  matter,  by  which  alone  they  can  manifest 
themselves  here  and  now,  and  that  personality  persists 
beyond  bodily  death. 

"  The  evidence,  to  my  mind,"  he  declared,  "  goes  to 
prove  that  discamate  intelligence  under  certain  condi- 
tions may  interact  with  us  on  the  material  side  .  .  . 
and  we  may  hope  to  attain  some  understanding  of  the 
nature  of  a  larger,  perhaps  ethereal  existence,  and  of 
the  conditions  regulating  intercourse  across  the  chasm. 
...  I  cannot  imagine  the  exertion  of  mechanical  force 
across  empty  space,  no  matter  how  minute ;  a  continu- 
ous medium  seems  to  me  essential.  I  cannot  admit  dis- 
continuity in  either  space  or  time,  nor  can  I  imagine 
any  sort  of  experiment  which  would  justify  such  a 
hypothesis.  For  surely  we  must  realize  that  we  know 
nothing  experimental  of  either  space  or  time,  we  cannot 
modify  them  in  any  way." 

*  This  most  interesting  contribution  as  to  scientific  research,  was 
delivered  September  10.  1913.  The  above  extracts  are  from  the 
report  in  the  New  York  Herald  of  September  11.  1913. 


OBTHODOX   EXPLANATIONS    ONLY   PAETIAL         e^J 

He  declares  that  it  is  impossible  to  account  for 
all  things  by  rules  of  applied  science.  Science  cannot 
account  for  many  things  in  the  realm  of  metaphysics 
—  in  the  dominion  of  the  supernatural.  "  They  account 
for  things  up  to  a  point,"  he  observed.  "They  ac- 
count in  part  for  the  color  of  a  sunset,  for  the  majesty 
of  a  mountain  peak,  for  the  glory  of  animate  existence. 
But  do  they  account  for  everything  completely.'*  Do 
they  account  for  our  own  feeling  of  joy  and  exaltation, 
for  our  sense  of  beauty,  for  the  manifest  beauty  exist- 
ing throughout  nature?  Do  not  these  things  suggest 
something  higher  and  nobler  and  more  joyous,  some- 
thing for  the  sake  of  which  all  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence goes  on? 

"  Surely  there  must  be  a  deeper  meaning  involved  in 
natural  objects.  Orthodox  explanations  are  only  par- 
tial, though  true  as  far  as  they  go.  When  we  examine 
each  parti-colored  pinnule  in  a  peacock's  tail,  or  hair 
in  a  zebra's  hide,  and  realize  that  the  varying  shades  on 
each  are  so  placed  as  to  contribute  to  the  general  de- 
sign and  pattern,  it  becomes  exceedingly  difficult  to 
explain  how  this  organized  cooperation  of  parts,  this 
harmonious  distribution  of  pigment  cells,  has  come 
about  on  merely  mechanical  principles. 

"  The  mechanism  whereby  existence  entrenches  itself 
is  manifest,  or  at  least  has  been  to  a  large  extent  dis- 
covered. Natural  selection  is  a  vera  causa,  so  far  as  it 
goes;  but  if  so  much  beauty  is  necessary  for  insects, 
what  about  the  beauty  of  a  landscape  or  of  clouds? 
What  utilitarian  object  do  those  observe?  Beauty  in 
general  is  not  taken  into  account  by  science.  Very 
well,  that  may  be  all  right  but  it  exists  nevertheless. 
It  is  not  my  function  to  discuss  it. 

"  No ;  but  it  is  my  function  to  remind  you  and  my- 
self that  our  studies  do  not  exhaust  the  universe,  and 
that  if  we  dogmatize  in  a  negative  direction,  and  say 
that  we  can  reduce  everything  to  physics  and  chemis- 


678 


MIUTAKY  ANNALS   OF   GBEECE 


I 


'I' 


try,  we  gibbet  ourselves  as  ludicrously  narrow  pedants, 
and  are  falh^g  far  short  of  the  richness  and  fulness  of 
our  human  birthright. 

"  But  if  we  have  learned  from  science  that  evolution 

tuTin  ""ir^  u?"""?  *  ^'"**  ^^^-  ^  "'^^t  °ot  ven- 
ture to  philosophize,  but  certainly  from  the  point  of 

view  of  science  evolution  is  a  great  reality.  Surely 
evolution  is  not  an  iUusion;  surely  the  universe  pro^ 
gresses  m  time.  Time  and  space  and  matter  are  ab- 
stractions, but  are  none  the  less  real ;    they  are  data 

11     T}l  "^""^"'^"^  ^^"^^  ^^^h  «t>^er,  perfecting? 
a  small  wildflower.'  ...  pt^riecimg 

n^Jl^'^^l"  ""^  '''''  immortal  beings  or  we  are  not.  We 
may  not  know  our  destiny,  but  we  must  have  a  destiny 
of  some  sort.  Those  who  make  denials  are  just  a^ 
hkey  to  be  wrong  as  those  who  make  assertions;  in 
fact,  demals  are  assertions  thrown  into  negative  form. 

should  be  careful  not  to  mislead.     Science  may  not  be 

bel^'f^"''''-^  '■'''"^  f "^  '"'^^"^^^  ^"PP««^  that  truth 
began  to  arrive  on  this  planet  a  few  centuries  aJ 

The   prescientific    insight    of   genius -of    poets    alid 

Sfof  i:^-^^  ^^^"P--  valurind  the 

access  of  those  inspired  seers  to  the  heart  of  the  uni^ 

verse   was    profound.      But   the   camp    folWr,,    the 
calS^hTd^^^T^^  V^^^^^^  "^-  thermVJ: 

"  Nnw^.'f  1    .      '  P/?^'*'  ^^  ^  '^^^  ^^^  ^^'•^  stoned. 

we  iSierit  tif  f "%'^  '^.r"  ^^"  ^^'^  ^^-  ^-torious, 
we  mhent  the  fruits  of  the  age-long  conflict  and  the 

mistake  of  thmkmg  that  ours  is  the  only  way  of  ex- 
SrTu  tr'^^^--?, depths  of  the  'unive'rsf  aTd 
that  aU  others  are  worthless  and  mistaken.     The  uni- 


SOUECE  OF  TEUE  EELIGION  679 

verse  is  a  larger  thing  than  we  have  any  conception  of, 
and  no  one  method  of  search  will  exhaust  its  treasures. 

"  Men  and  brethren,  we  are  trustees  of  the  truth  of 
the  physical  universe  as  scientifically  explored.  Let  us 
be  faithful  to  our  trust. 

"  Genuine  religion  has  its  roots  deep  down  in  the 
heart  of  humanity  and  in  the  reality  of  things.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  by  our  methods  we  fail  to  grasp 
it;  the  actions  of  the  Deity  make  no  appeal  to  any 
special  sense,  only  a  universal  appeal,  and  our  methods 
are,  as  we  know,  incompetent  to  detect  complete  uni- 
formity. There  is  a  principle  of  relativity  here,  and 
unless  we  encounter  flaw  or  jar  or  change,  nothing  in  us 
responds.  We  are  deaf  and  blind  therefore  to  the  im- 
minent grandeur  around  us  unless  we  have  insight 
enough  to  appreciate  the  whole,  and  to  recognize  in  the 
woven  fabric  of  existence  flowing  steadily  from  the  loom 
in  an  infinite  progress  toward  perfection,  the  ever- 
growing garment  of  a  transcendent  God." 

But  the  continual  advance  in  the  domain  of  physical 
science  is  daily  opening  new  vistas  over  new  fields  of 
discovery.  Nature  from  time  to  time  yields  her  secrets. 
But  nature  has  no  secrets  with  respect  to  the  destiny 
of  the  human  soul.  Nothing  has  thus  far  been  revealed 
by  scientific  research,  which  justifies  the  assumption, 
that  an  answer  will  be  found  to  the  inquiry,  where  are 
the  dead.  From  remote  antiquity  we  hear  the  positive 
declaration,  there  are  no  dead.  The  postulate  of  sur- 
vival after  death  was  taught  for  centuries  in  Egypt, 
in  what  is  known  as  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis, 
which  was  introduced  in  Greece  by  Pythagoras,  who 
declared  that  his  soul  inhabited  the  body  of  Euphorbus 
during  the  Trojan  War,  whose  actions  he  claimed  to 
have  remembered.  This  belief  assumes  that  the  soul, 
at  death,  passes  into  other  beings,  not  necessarily 
human,  until  after  the  lapse  of  centuries  it  is  again  re- 
incarnated in  the  body  of  man.     Modern  philosophy, 


68o 


MIUTAET   ANNALS   OP   GREECE 


which  is  not  satisfied  to  walk  by  faith,  but  seeks  tangi- 
ble evidence,  has  rejected  the  doctrine  of  the  soul's 
migration  through  the  bodies  of  animals. 

The  search  for  evidence  has  yielded  to  the  scientist 
no  tangible  results,  but  speculative  philosophy,  while 
assuming  that  the  soul  is  immortal,  continues  to  press 
the  inquiry,  shall  we  carry  with  us  into  some  other  state 
of  existence  our  conscious  identity?     In  our  day  the 
speculative    philosopher,    Maurice    Maeterlinck,    while 
fascinated  with  the  grand  idea  of  immortality,  loves 
to  indulge  in  speculation  as  to  our  destiny  in  its  new 
environment  in  another  world.     He  assumes  that  there 
is  no  good  reason  to  justify  the  belief,  that  in  the 
other  life,  we  should  not  advance,  rather  than  retain 
the   emotions    and   desires   which   we    indulge   in   here 
during  our  mundane  existence.     In  his  recent  book, 
"  Our  Eternity,"  he  rejects  the  theory  of  annihilation. 
In  this  connection  he  observes :  "  If  death  carries  us  to 
nothingness,  did  birth  then,  draw  us  out  of  that  same 
nothingness.?     Why  should  the  second  be  more  impos- 
sible than   the  first?"     He   assumes,  therefore,  that 
there  are  two  eternities,  that  before  birth,  as  well  as 
that  after  death.     There  are  three  mysteries  which  the 
mind  of  man,  unaided  by  divine  revelation  has  never 
been  able  to  solve.    We  know  not  whence  we  came,  nor 
for  what  reason  we  are  here,  nor  whither  we  go.     If 
the  soul  of  the  individual  has  existed  from  all  eternity, 
it  is,  in  this  life,  unconscious  of  any  prior  existence, 
through  which  it  may  have  passed,  notwithstanding  the 
testimony  of  Pythagoras  who  claimed  that  he  remem- 
bered his  conduct  on  the  plains  of  Troy  where  his  soul 
inhabited  the  body  of  Euphorbus,  who  fought  with  the 
hosts  of  Agamemnon. 

New  wonders  also  are  being  constantly  revealed  in 
the  physical  world.  The  philosophers  and  sages  of 
antiquity  never  dreamed  that  scientific  investigation 
would  result  in  discoveries  which  when  atmospheric  con- 


WmELESS    TELEGRAPHY 


68x 


ditions  are  favorable,  would  enable  one  to  practically 
listen  to  the  ticking  of  a  clock  across  the  ocean  3,850 
miles  away.  Wireless  telegraphy  was  the  latest  wonder 
of  the  twentieth  century.  On  the  21st  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1913,  for  the  first  time  in  scientific  annals  by 
means  of  radio  telgraphy,  an  expert  operator  in  the 
naval  observatory  at  the  Arlington  radio  station  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  was  able  to  compare  the  ticking  of 
a  clock  with  the  ticking  of  another  clock,  in  the  na- 
tional observatory  at  the  Eiffel  Tower  station  in  Paris, 
France.  The  radio  signals  or  aerograms  were  dis- 
patched from  America  to  Europe  in  the  fraction  of  a 
second. 

The  object  of  this  latest  scientific  achievement  was 
to  determine  the  difference  in  longitude  on  the  earth's 
surface  between  the  two  places,  and  measure  the  veloc- 
ity of  projection  of  radio  signals  through  space.  The 
telegram  and  the  cablegram  made  possible  only  by  the 
intervention  of  wires  and  cables,  have  been  superseded 
by  the  aerogram  which  darts  through  space  with  the 
velocity  of  light,  surpassing  the  velocity  of  sound,  and 
has  rendered  wires  and  cables  no  longer  necessary. 

Hertzian  waves  have  been  discovered.  "  With  them," 
says  Camille  Flammarion,  the  distinguished  French  sci- 
entist, "  disappears  the  complicated  apparatus  of  wires, 
poles  and  cables.  It  was  soon  perceived  that  these 
marvelous  waves,  which  are  propagated  in  every  direc- 
tion, which  traverse  the  thickest  walls  and  surround  us 
invisibly  with  a  subtle  reservoir  of  untranslated 
thoughts,  can  be  easily  held  captive.  The  receiving 
apparatus  is  simplified  to  such  an  extent  that  to-day 
ingenious  young  fellows  construct  at  very  small  ex- 
pense delightful  detectors,  with  which  they  receive  sur- 
reptitiously the  radio-telegraphic  messages  of  the 
Eiffel  Tower. 

"This  has  even  become  an  amusement  in  which  many 
Parisians  take  part.    One  hears  with  curiosity  the  tick- 


682 


MILITARY   ANNALS    OF    GEEECE 


tacs,  short  or  long,  which  are  sounded  in  the  little 
receiving  apparatus  and  feels  a  strange  emotion  in 
thinking  that  at  the  same  moment  —  or  almost  within 
a  few  hundredths  of  a  second  —  this  same  ticking  is 
heard  in  Washington,  62,000  kilometres  (3,850  miles) 
from  Paris ;  in  the  solitude  of  the  seas  by  ships  which 
voyage  between  the  Old  and  the  New  Continent ;  and  at 
immense  distances  in  Europe  and  Africa.  It  is  like  a 
mysterious  voice  which  whispers  the  same  word  across 
space  and  establishes  a  tacit  accord  between  all  those 
who  hear  it,  unknown  to  each  other." 

In  this  connection  it  will  be  interesting  to  note  the 
advance  which  has  been  made  in  the  science  of  anatomy 
and  physiology  since  the  age  of  Pericles.  Prior  to  the 
time  of  Aristotle,  who  was  born  nearly  a  century  after 
Pericles,  the  human  body  was  a  locked  body.  With 
regard  to  the  functions  of  the  vital  organs  little  was 
known.  Scholars  and  philosophers  knew  nothing  of  the 
functions  of  the  heart,  with  respect  to  its  action  in 
pumping  the  blood.  It  was  obvious  that  the  blood  did 
not  remain  stagnant  in  the  body,  but  the  learned  knew 
comparatively  nothing  more  about  it.  Aristotle  be- 
lieved that  the  blood  was  generated  by  the  food  in  the 
liver,  and  was  thence  carried  to  the  heart,  and  from 
that  organ  was  sent  through  the  veins.  As  to  the 
arteries,  he  supposed  they  only  carried  air.  Galen,  in 
the  second  century  of  our  era,  discovered  that  the  ar- 
teries carried  the  blood,  as  well  as  vital  air  or  spirit. 
But  it  was  not  till  nearly  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century  that  William  Harvey  (1578-1657)  discovered 
the  manner  in  which  the  blood  circulated  in  the  body. 

These  observations  are  interesting,  in  view  of  the 
wonderful  discoveries  of  the  present  century.  Human 
ingenuity  has  invented  an  instrument  whereby  it  is  pos- 
sible to  look  through  opaque  substances,  and  through 
the  human  body  as  if  it  were  glass,  and  observe  its  in- 
ternal mechanism  in  perfect  harmonious  action.    X-ray 


PHOTOGEAPHING    INTERNAL    ORGANS  683 

photography  was  the  first  means  discovered  to  enable 
the  scientist  to  look  through  living  flesh.  Radiography 
enabled  the  surgeon  to  photograph  the  vital  organs; 
but  to  do  this  subjected  the  patient  to  exposure  for  such 
a  length  of  time  as  to  operate  disastrously  on  the  living 
tissues.  An  apparatus  was  discovered  called  a  rein- 
forcing screen,  which  greatly  reduced  the  time  required. 
Finally  M.  Dessauer  invented  a  method,  securing  the 
desired  results,  without  the  reinforcing  screen,  by 
means  of  a  Ruhmkorff  coil,  which  enables  the  operator 
to  photograph  the  internal  organs  of  the  body  in  a 
fraction  of  a  second.  "  These  photographs  can  be 
thrown  upon  a  screen,"  says  one  of  our  distinguished 
scientists,^  "  and  the  time  is  at  hand  when  we  shall  see 
upon  a  screen  the  entire  internal  mechanism  of  a  human 
body  in  full  action.  Then  physiology  will  be  taught  by 
sight,  and  not  by  books,  and  physicians  themselves  will 
learn  things  about  these  bodies  of  ours,  of  which,  per- 
haps, they  have  never  learned." 


1914^^'  ^*^^^"  ^'  ^^^^ss,  in  the  New  York  American,  February, 


THE    END 


INDEX 


Abraham,     language     of,     59; 
driven  from  Ur  of  Chaldees, 
66 
Achaean,  line  of  heroes,  72 
Achilles,  of  Phthiotis,  79 
Achilles,  shield  of,  34,  37 
Acte,  canal  across,  312 
Actium,  Battle  of,  561,  616 
Adam,  distinguished  from  pre- 
historic man,  26 
Adimantus,    insults    Themisto- 

cles,  353 
iEschylus,     author     of     "The 
Persians,"    284;     account    of 
Battle  of  Salamis,  366;  con- 
temporary of  Herodotus,  275 
Agamemnon,    reigned    in    My- 
cenae, 68 
Ahasuerus,  referred  to  in  Book 

of  Esther,  438 
Alcibiades      advises      Pericles, 
618 

Alcmaeonidse,  influence  of,  143 
Alexander    ©f    Macedon,     ap- 
pears in  disguise  at  Plataea, 
406 

Alliances  negotiated  by  Peri- 
cles, 603 

Amestris,  the  wife  of  Xerxes, 
439;    cruelty  of,  439 

Amompharetus  at  Plataea,  con- 
duct of,  411 

Amphictyonic  Council,  account 
of,  104,  et  seq.;  decree  of, 
against  the  Dolopians,  106 

Anatomy,  Science  of,  682 

Anaxagoras,  teachings   of,  592 

Antigone,  tragedy  of,  by 
Sophocles,  633 

Appella,  assembly  of,  94 


685 


Archidamus  invades  Attica, 
621 

Areopagus,  Council  of,  12S; 
jurisdiction  of,  134 

Argos,  remains  of,  8 

Arguments  as  to  credibility  of 
Herodotus,  275 

Aristides  chosen  conmiander  at 
Byzantium,  451;  confers  with 
Themistocles  at  Salamis, 
336;  reply  of,  to  Mardonius, 
395;    sketch  of  life,  464    . 

Aristodemus  at  Thermopylae, 
321 

Aristogoras  of  Miletus,  182 

Aristotle,  theory  as  to  circula- 
tion of  the  blood,  682 

Army  of  Leonidas  at  Ther- 
mopylae, 316;  of  Xerxes,  263; 
estimate  of,  289;  numerical 
strength  of,  274;  review  at 
Doriscus,  270 

Artabanus  advises  Xerxes, 
249;  points  out  danger  of 
his  expedition,  259 

Artayctes  in  command  of  Per- 
sians at  Sestus,  441;  cruci- 
fixion of,  443 

Artemisia,  advice  of,  to  Xer- 
xes, 351;  at  Battle  of  Sala- 
mis, 366 

Aspasia  courted  by  Pericles, 
631;  indicted  for  heresy, 
625 ;  correspondence  with 
Cleone,  636 

Astronomy  in  the  timp  of 
Abraham,  66 

Athenians  aid  lonians,  196; 
defeated  at  Coronea,  516; 
defeat  the  Chalcideans,  148; 


686 


INDEX 


prepare    to    lead    army    of 
Xerxes,  301 
Athenian     Empire,     how     ac- 
quired,   490;     jurisprudence, 

Athens  acquires  a  land  em- 
pire, 501;  becomes  a  great 
city,  548;  burned  by  the 
Persians,  342;  concludes  an 
alliance  with  Corcyra,  569; 
oppresses  her  allies,  494; 
under  Cimon  becomes  a 
maritime  power,  476 
Atlantis,  lost  continent  of,  20 
Attic  tribes,  names  of,  159; 
tribes  imder  Solon,  135 

Babylon,  Euphrates  deflected 
from  its  course,  319 

Bee  Hive  Tombs,  9 

Biblical  and  Homeric  Litera- 
ture, 45 

Boeotians  defeat  the  Chalcid- 
eans,  148 

BjTzantium  taken  by  Pausa- 
nias,  445 

Callimachus   at  Marathon,   991 

Cavalry,  absence  of,  at  Mara- 
thon, 993 

Chalcideans  defeated  by  Athe- 
nians, 148 

Chaldseans,  knowledge  of  the 
constellations,  33;  language 
of,  59 

Chronology,  table  of,  97,  99 

Cimmerians,  destruction  of, 
168 

Cimon,  achievements  of,  476; 
at  Cyprus,  533;  chosen  com- 
mander at  Byzantium,  451; 
at  the  Eurymedon,  485;  lia- 
ble for  debts  of  his  father, 
134;  ostracism  rescinded, 
511;  reduces  Naxos,  483; 
reduces  Thasos,  487;  sketch 
of  life  of,  518;  takes  island 
of  Scyros,  479;  recovers  re- 
mains, of  Theseus,  480;  tried 
for  bis  life,  597;    reconciled 


to  Pericles,  539;  imprisoned 
for  debt,  590;  appointed  ad- 
miral, 593 

Circulation  of  the  blood  dis- 
covered by  Harvey,  689 

Cleomenes  conspires  with  Isag- 
oras,  147;  declares  he  is  not 
Dorian  but  Achaean,  82 

Cleon  assails  Pericles,  699 

Cleruchs,  status  of,  599 

Clisthenes,  the  elder,  changes 
name  of  Dorian  tribes,  81; 
hostility  of,  toward  Argives, 
81 

Clisthenes,  constitution  of,  140 

Constellations,  Imown  before 
time  of  Homer,  33 

Confederacy  of  Delos,  459; 
and  see  Delos,  confederacy 
of 

Congress  to  provide  means  to 
oppose  Xerxes,  309,  303 

Commanders  of  army  of 
Xerxes,  names  of,  969 

Corcyra,  appealed  to  for  aid 
against  Xerxes,  305;  at  war 
with  Corinth,  556;  seeks  al- 
liance with  Athens,  563 

Corcyrian  and  Corinthian 
Wars,  615 

Correspondence  of  Aspasia 
with  Cleone,  636 

Corinth,  oldest  sea  power  in 
Hellas,  557;  opposes  alli- 
ance of  Corcyra  with  Ath- 
ens, 566 

Constitution  of  Clisthenes,  140; 
of  Solon,  122 

Corinthians  defeated  by  My- 
ronides,  505 

Coronea,  Athenians  defeated 
at,  516 

Creation,  accounts  of,  668 

Cretans,  appealed  to  for  aid 
against  Xerxes,  305 

Ctesius,   Persian  historian,  975 

Cylon,  aflfair  of,  623 

Cyprus  reduced  by  Pausa- 
nias,  445 

Cyrus  the  Great  takes  Baby- 


INDEX 


687 


Ion,   319;    conquests    in    the 
East,     208;      dominions     of, 
165;    views    on    doctrine   of 
inmiortality,  675 
Cyrus  the  younger,  166 

Danaans  of  Heracleid  line, 
79 

Danube,  delta  of,  176 

Darius,  annual  income  of,  167; 
first  expedition  off  Mount 
Athos,  911;  Scythian  expe- 
dition, 179;  threatens  the 
Athenians,  187 

Datis,  forces  of,  at  Marathon, 
913 

David,  relations  of,  with 
Hiram,  47 

Delos,  Confederacy  of,  452;  an 
Athenian  enterprise,  453 ; 
established  B.  C.  478 ;  con- 
stituent \  members,  457; 
amount  of  annual  assess- 
ments of  members,  458; 
forms  nucleus  of  Athenian 
Empire,  461;  how  regarded 
by  Athens,  483;  revenues  of, 
548 

Delphi  attacked  by  Persians, 
339;  miracle  at,  terrifies 
Persians,  341 

Demaratus,  colloquy  of,  with 
Xerxes,  971;  consulted  by 
Xerxes,  319 

Descent,  law  of,  at  Athens, 
139 

Deucalion,  story  of,  19 

Diarchy  in  Sparta,  71 

Dikasts,  jurisdiction  of,  156 

Diodorus  assigns  cause  of 
Peloponnesian  War,  618 ; 
praises  Gelon,  380 

Dionysius  of  Phocaea,  901,  203 

Dolopians,  decree  of  Amphic- 
tyonic  Council  as  to,  106 

Dorian  Dialect,  not  confined  to 
the  Dorians,  80;  tribes,  74; 
Dorian  and  Achaean  in  Pel- 
oponnesus, 77 

Doriscus,   review   of   army   of 


Xerxes  at,  270 
Draco,  laws  of,  125 
Dress   and   costumes   of   army 

of  Xerxes,  265 

Earth,   knowledge   of   ancients 

concerning,  34 
Earthquake    destroys    City    of 

Sparta,  489 
Eclipse     of     the     sun     alarms 

Xerxes,  256 
Egyptians,  learning  of,  67 
Elpinice,    daughter    of    Miltia- 

des,   241;    influence  of,  with 

Pericles,      605;       sister      of 

Cimon,  134,  521 
Ephialtes,    statesman,    assassi- 
nation of,  600;    traitor,  aids 

Persians  at  Thermopylae,  319 
Ephors,  Court  of,  94 
Eretria,  destruction  of,  215 
Esther,    reference    to    Ahasue- 

rus  in  book  of,  438 
Euboea,  principal  cities   of,  9; 

revolts  from  Athens,  535 
Eupatridae,  The,  127 
Euripides     born     at     Salamis, 

369 
Eurybiades  bribed  by  Themis- 

tocles,      332;       resolves      to 

abandon  the  Athenians,  349; 

in  command  at  Artemisium, 

327 
Eurymedon,  battle  of,  485 
Evidence  to  sustain  Herodotus, 

278 
Ezekiel    pronounces    doom    of 

Tyre,  22 

Fauna  in  southern  Europe, 
fifth  century  B.C.,  310,  311 

Flammarion,  Camille,  utility 
of  Hertzian  waves,  681 

Funeral  oration  of  Pericles, 
661 

Gelon,  at  Himera,  377;  strat- 
egy of,  379 

Generals  of  army  of  Xerxes, 
969 


688 


INDEX 


Geography  of  Ancient  Hellas, 
1  et  ieq. 

Greece,  early  colonies  of,  17 

Greek  Myths,  Symonds*  views 
as  to,  32;  Greeks  and  Phoe- 
nicians, 49;  commercial  re 
latlons  of,  60;  strength  of 
army  at  Doriscus,  270;  at 
Platea,  409 

Grote,  criticises  accoimt  of 
Herodotus  as  to  army  of 
Xerxes,  277 

Hamilcar  at  Himera,  375; 
sends  Selinius  for  aid,  378; 
death  of,  380 

Hebrew  language,  58 

Hegesistratus  appeals  to  Leo- 
tychides,  427 

Hellas,  geography  of,  1;  prim- 
itive inhabitants  of,  6 

Hellenes,  account  of,  11 

Hellespont,  crossing  of  army 
of  Xerxes  at,  261 

Helots,  condition  of,  in  Sparta, 
88 

Heraclidae,  in  Peloponnesus, 
71;    return  of  the,  76 

Hercules,  birth  of,  73 

Herodotus,  critics  of,  275;  his 
description  of  first  Suea 
Canal,  54 

Himera,  Battle  of,  374 

Hippias,  abduction  of,  144 

Hiram,  friend  of  David  and 
Solomon,  47 

Hirschof  of  Berlin,  concerning 
the  spectrum  analysis,  190 

Histiaeus,  preserves  bridge  on 
the  Danube,  180,  191 ;  treach- 
ery of,  199;    fate  of,  205 

Holy  War,  waged  by  the  Do- 
rians, 507 

Homer,  the  Iliad  and  the 
Odyssey  of,  SO,  et  »eq.;  Sy- 
monds*  views  on,  31;  Wolfs 
Prolegomena,  32,  39;  de- 
scribes shield  of  Achilles, 
34,  37;  conception  of  the 
earth,     35;      unity     of,     39; 


theory  of  Dr.  Bently,  43 
Hydarnes,  at  Thermopylae,  318, 

319 
Hyllus    invades    Peloponnesus, 

74 
Hipparchus,    assassination    of, 

139 

Iliad  of  Homer,  30  et  seq. 

Immortality,  doctrine  of, 
among  the  ancients,  670; 
as  viewed  by  modern  science, 
667;  views  of  Cyrus  the 
Great  as  to,  675 

Immortals  in  army  of  Xerxes, 
255 

Institutions  of  Lycurgus,  85 
et  seq. 

Inscriptions  posted  by  Thc- 
mistocles,  337 

Ionian  Wars,  185 

lonians,  descent  of,  78;  re- 
volt of,  191;  urge  confed- 
eracy of,  after  battle  of 
Mycale,  431,  433 

Isagoras  conspires  with  Cle- 
omenes,  147 

Isthmian  games,  119 

Job,  reference  of,  to  constella- 
tions, 61;  describes  the 
power  of  Jehovah,  63 

Jury  system,  under  Clisthenes, 
154 

Lacedaemon,  in  the  age  of 
Lycurgus,  89;  Lacedaemoni- 
ans prepare  to  meet  army 
of  Xerxes,  301 

Lade,  battle  of,  201 

Land,  equality  of  distribution 
among  the  Spartans,  100 

Laws  and  institutions  of 
Sparta,  ^5  et  seq. 

Legitimacy,  law  of,  in  Athens, 
633 

Leleges,  account  of,  10 

Leonidas,  number  of  his  army, 
316;  sent  to  Thermopylae, 
315;     defeat    of,    at    Ther- 


INDEX 


689 


mopylae,  320 

Leotychides,  sails  to  Samos 
and  Mycale,  428;  consents 
to  accompany  Xantippus  to 
the  Hellespont,  435;  visits 
Abydos  with  Xantippus,  435; 
declines  to  aid  at  Siege  of 
Sestus,  435 

Lesbos,  seeks  aid  from  Sparta, 
499 

Lincoln,  address  of,  at  Gettys- 
burg, 664 

Lions  in  southern  Europe,  311 

Literature  of  the  Bible  and 
Homer,  45;  in  the  time  of 
Homer,  56 

Lodge,  Sir  Oliver,  on  continu- 
ity, doctrine  of  immortality, 
676 

Love,  poem  of  Sophocles  de- 
scribing power  of,  631 

Lycurgus,  age  of,  69;  ances- 
try of,  71;  and  Homer,  46, 
47,  56;  travels  of,  92;  form 
of  government  prior  to,  93 

Macedonians  send  challenge  to 
Pausanias,  409 

Man,  antiquity  of,  6 

Marathon,  date  of  Battle  of, 
217;    Battle  of,  206 

Mardonius  advises  Xerxes  at 
Salamis,  368;  appeals  to  the 
Athenians,  393;  retires  to 
Boeotia,  397;  speech  of,  to 
his  allies,  412;  death  of,  at 
Plataea,  417 

Marriage  laws  among  Lace- 
daemonians, 98;  and  domes- 
tic relations,  regulations  of, 
99 

Massisistius  killed  at  Plataea, 
400,  401 

Metempsychosis,     doctrine     of, 

671 
Miletus,  colonies  of,  188 
Miltiades  at  the  bridge  on  the 
Danube,   180;    at   Marathon, 
220;     expedition    to    Paros, 
238;    sketch   of,  229;    death  I 


of,  241 

Mnessiphilus  confers  with 
Themistocles  at  Salamis,  349 

Mount  Athos,  destruction  of 
Persian   Fleet  at,   211 

Moabite  Stone,  56,  57 

Money,  use  of,  among  the 
Spartans,  100 

Mortgages,  how  recorded  in 
Athens,  128 

Moses,  language  of,  58 

Mount  Ida,  army  of  Xerxes  at, 
257 

Muster  Roll  of  army  of  Xer- 
xes, 278 

Mycale,  Battle  of,  425;  fought 
on  same  day  as  Battle  of 
Plataea,  429;  results  of  the 
battle,  430 

Mycene,  remains  of,  8 

Myronides  defeats  Corinthi- 
ans, 505 

Naval  engagement  at  Arte- 
misium,  334;  naval  forces  of 
Xerxes,  267 

Navy  composing  army  of  Xer- 
xes, 264 

Naxos  taken  by  Cimon,  483 

Nemean  Games,  117 

Odyssey  of  Homer,  30  et  teq, 

CEnophyta,  Battle  of,  511 

Olympian  Games,  113 

Ophir,  gold  from,  50;  locality 
of,  51 

Ostracism  under  laws  of  Clis- 
thenes, 157 

Ovid  describes  the  creation, 
670 

Pan-Hellenic  Congress,  propo- 
sal to  establish,  614 

Panormus,  troops  of  Hamilcar 
at,  376 

Patmos,  member  of  Delian 
Confederacy,  457;  book  of 
revelations  written  at,  457 

Pausanias,  at  Plataea,  396;  in 
command     at     Cyprus     and 


<l 


690 


INDEX 


Byzantium,  447;    recalled  at 
Byzantium,    451 ;     treachery 
of,  451;   number  of  army  of, 
at  Plataea,  402;    sends  mes- 
sage to  Aristides  at  Platasa, 
413;    sought  daughter  of  the 
Persian     monarch    in     mar- 
riage, 456;   vanity  of,  422 
Pelasgi,  account  of,  7 
Peloponnesian  War,  causes  of, 
573,    608;     responsibility    of 
Pericles  for,  617 
Peloponnesus,  cities  of,  31 
Pericles    advocates    war    with 
Sparta,    581;      bribes     Plei- 
stoanax,    540;     conducts    de- 
fense  of  Aspasia,   627;    do- 
mestic     troubles      of,      632; 
commands    in    Samian    War, 
553;    expedition  in  the  Gulf 
of    Corinth,    605;     injustice 
of,  611;    military  exploits  of, 
513;    peace   of,   535;    power 
and  influence  of,  503;    quells 
revolts  of  Euboea,  539;    rec- 
onciled to  Cimon,  532;  seeks 
to  justify  use  of  revenue  of 
Delian      Confederacy,      460; 
speech    of,    in    his    own    de- 
fense,   622;     survey    of    his 
career,  643;  sued  for  an  ac- 
counting, 639;  death  of,  641; 
sketch  of  life  of,  588 
Perioeci,  condition  of  the,  88 
Persian  fleet  wrecked  off  Arte- 
misium,    329;     wrecked    off 
"the  Hollows,"  335 
Pheidias   accused   of  embezzle- 
ment, 619 
Phoenician  alphabet,  56 
Phoenicians,  retreat  of,  319 
Phormo,  victories  of,  639 
Piracy   regarded   as  honorable 
occupation,  106 

Pisistratidae,  administration  of, 
139 

Pisistratus,  character  of,  141 
Pithagoras,  teachings  of,  593 
Plague  at  Athens,  621,  622 
Plataea,   battle   of,   393;    Per- 


sian spoils  at,  421 

Plato  states  belief  of  Socrates 
as  to  immortality,  672 

Pleistoanax  bribed  by  Pericles, 
540,  608 

Plitdown  skull,  account  of,  25 

Plutarch,  views  of,  as  to  Peri- 
cles, 653 

Political  parties  in  Athens,  127 

Polydectus,  King  of  Sparta,  91 

Prehistoric  Hellas,  6 

Priesthood,  establishment  of, 
110 

Prophecies  delivered  at  Delphi 
to  Themistocles,  345 

Psyttalea,  slaughter  of  Per- 
sians at,  467;  account  of  by 
iEschylus,  468 

Pythian  Games,  115 

Pythoness  at  Delphi,  how  con- 
sults the  gods,  344 

Rawlinson,  citidsms  of  Herod- 
otus by,  277 

Reforms  of  Clisthenes,  151 

Religion  amongst  primitive 
peoples,  108;  of  Greeks,  104 
et  seq, 

Rhetra  of  Lycurgus,  account 
of,  85  et  seq.;  not  reduced  to. 
writing,   95 

Ruhmkorfl'  Coil,  used  to  pho- 
tograph organs  of  the  body, 
683  ' 

Salamis,  battle  of,  347;  Straits 
of,  blockaded  by  Xerxes,  359 

Samian  War,  550;  causes  of, 
628;    expenses  of,  555 

Sardis,  burning  of,  185,  197 

Scyllias,  the  diver,  333 

Scyros,  decree  against,  107; 
reduction  of,  479 

Scythia  and  the  Scyths,  161; 
expeditions  against,  account 
of,  172;  preparations  for, 
166;   habits  of  Scythians,  167 

Serpent  of  Delphi,  account  of, 
422;  in  the  hippodrome  in 
Constantinople,  422 


INDEX 


691 


Sestus,  siege  of,  431 

Shield  of  Achilles,  34 

Sicilia,  Gelon  appeals  to,  for 
aid  against  Xerxes,  305 

Sicinnus,  sent  to  Persian  fleet 
by  Themistocles  at  Salamis, 
357 

Socrates*  views  as  to  immor- 
tality, 672 

Solomon,  treaty  of,  with  Hi- 
ram, 47;  marriage  of,  to 
daughter  of  Hiram,  60; 
writings  of,  65 

Solon,  Laws  and  constitution 
of,  122 

Soothsayer  advises  movements 
of  troops  at  Plataea,  415 

Sophocles  elected  Strategus  by 
Pericles,  629;  poem  as  to 
divine  power  of  love,  631 

Sparta  destroyed  by  earth- 
quake, 489;  at  enmity  with 
Athens,  491;  in  the  age  of 
Lycurgus,  68,  87;  declines  to 
co-operate  with  Athenians, 
451;  suggests  that  Asiatic 
Greeks  quit  Ionia,  433;  wars 
for  possession  of,  84;  laws 
and  institutions  of,  84 

Spies  sent  to  ascertain  move- 
ments of  Xerxes,  304 

States  of  Central  Greece,  2 

Struggle  for  body  of  Leonidas, 
321 

Suez  Canal  constructed  by 
early  kings  of  Egypt,  52; 
account  of,  by  Herodotus,  55 

Sybota,  battle  of,  570 

Symonds,  John  A.,  views  of,  on 
Homer,  31 ;  concerning  Greek 
myths,  32 

Tanaerra,  battle  of,  509 
Tarshish,  locality  of,  47,  50 
Teams,  Springs  of,  174 
Tempe,  Vale  of,  4;   abandoned 

by  the  Greeks,  307 
Thales  of  Miletus,  189 
Thasos,  taken  by  Cimon,  487 
Themistocles  abandons  Vale  of 


Tempe,  317;  active  in  op- 
posing Xerxes,  302;  bribes 
Adiniantus,  333;  entreats 
Eurybiades  at  Salamis,  353; 
in  command  at  Artemisium, 
327;  interprets  meaning  of 
"Wooden  Wall,"  341;  re- 
bukes Adimantus,  355;  sends 
Sicinnus  to  Xerxes,  357; 
sketch  of  life  of,  382;  out- 
wits Lacedaemonians,  389 ; 
accorded  honors  at  Sparta, 
391 

Theseus,  inspiration  of,  at 
Marathon,  224;  remains  of, 
brought  from  Scyros,  481 

Thermopylae,  battle  of,  314 

Thessalians  unable  to  oppose 
army  of  Xerxes,  306 

Thirty  years'  truce,  535,  609 

Tiryns,  remains  of,  8 

Tolmides,  plunders  coast  of 
Peloponnesus,  512;  killed  at 
Coronea,  516,  607 

Trachis,  camp  of  Xerxes  at, 
313 

Transmigration  of  souls,  doc- 
trine of,  671;  described  by 
Socrates,  672 

Tribes  of  Attica,  names  of, 
152 

Twelve  Tables,  law  of,  128 

Tyre,  doom  of,  pronounced  by 
Ezekiel,  22 

Ur,  of  the  Chaldees,  birthplace 

of  Abraham,  59 
Usher,    Archbishop,    table    of 

chronology  of,  27 

War  speech  of  Pericles,  617 

Wolf,  Prolegomena  in  Home- 
rum  by,  32,  39 

Wooden  Wall,  prophecy  as  to, 
431 

Writing  in  the  Homeric  age, 
40 

Xantippus,  besieges  Sestus, 
431;    urges   Spartans  to  go 


692 


INDEX 


to  Sestus,  434;  and  Lcotych- 
ides  return  to  Samos,  after 
victory  at  Mycale,  431; 
takes  city  of  Sestus,  444 

Xenophon  defends  views  of 
Cyrus  the  Great  on  Immor- 
tality, 675 

Xerxes  prepares  to  invade 
Greece,  223;  speech  of,  at 
Susa,  247;  orders  sham  bat- 
tle, 258;  crosses  the  Helles- 
pont, 261;  estimate  as  to 
strength  of  army,  289;  forces 


of,  263;  at  Mount  Ida,  957; 
leads  his  army  in  person, 
310;  review  of  army  at  Do- 
riscus,  269;  advances  through 
Thrace,  Macedonia  and  Vale 
of  Tempe,  309;  encamped 
at  Trachis,  313;  blockades 
the  Straits  of  Salamis,  359; 
intrigues  of,  436 

Zeno,  philosophy  of,  590 
Zeus,  power  of,  described,  63 


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